


El Milonga de Murphy

by ArendAlphaEagle



Category: Milo Murphy's Law
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:15:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26801254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArendAlphaEagle/pseuds/ArendAlphaEagle
Summary: The gang discovers Amanda's passion for tango, as a tango dance competition is coming. Wanting to finally try it, she and Milo sign up, when two familiar rivals claim they can do better and force them in a bet. Moreover, a scathing remark makes Milo question if he really is good enough for Amanda...
Relationships: Amanda Lopez/Milo Murphy, Melissa Chase/Zack Underwood
Comments: 5
Kudos: 29





	1. A Ballet Backstory and Tango Tournament

On a Saturday afternoon, Milo, Melissa and Zack were walking alongside Amanda and Lydia to the Danville Dance Hall, which in fact doubled as a dance school. Today was open house, so attendees from all over the place were welcome to visit, watch and participate in several of the dance classes available.

Zack and Lydia had been taking interpretive dance classes recently, so naturally...

"Thanks for coming with us to the dance school's open house today", Zack began. "Maybe you can watch how I perform interpretive dance without me wearing an alien helmet prop and embarrassing myself, like at the WiBAs."

"And maybe you guys can actually see _me_ perform without being sick and embarrassing myself", Lydia added, "...like at the WiBAs."

"No problem, Zack", Milo smiled. "And maybe we can try these other dance classes, too."

"Well, as long as I don't have to participate in the ballet performance", Melissa spoke rather non-excitably. "I'm not one that likes to do all these stereotypically girly stuff."

"Well actually, while it may not be my favorite per se, ballet does fascinate me", Milo said. "It's so calm and serene, and well-choreographed, you can't get your eyes off of it. Just like a disaster, but also the complete opposite!"

"I have never heard you talking so passionately about ballet, Milo", Zack noted.

"Eh, I bet he likes it because I followed ballet classes there", Amanda scoffed playfully, her claim making Milo blush like a tomato. Melissa, Zack and Lydia widened their eyes at the revelation.

"N-now wait a minute, I still would've liked ballet regardless of what you think of it, Amanda", Milo clarified, face still beet red. "Me encountering you at last year's open house was purely coincidental!" This had Melissa, Zack and Lydia widen their eyes even further.

"Wait a minute, did Milo ever tell you he went to an open house at the dance school with Amanda?" Zack asked Melissa.

"No! Well, _kinda_ , I guess", Melissa shrugged. "He did say he was going to the open house to try out ballet. Despite my distaste for ballet, I would've at least joined to watch him, but I was sick that weekend. But that he saw Amanda there is completely new to me."

"Girl, I didn't know you practiced ballet", Lydia told Amanda. "You should've told us sooner!"

"Milo, Amanda, what happened that day?" Zack asked.

Milo laid his finger on his chin as he tried remembering. "Well, when I learned about the open house event last year, I was a bit into a ballet phase and wanted to try it out. I asked Melissa if she could join me that day, but like she said just now, she got sick that weekend, so I went alone..."

* * *

_With Melissa sick in bed and Sara off to a convention, Milo didn't really have anyone to take with him, so there he was, on the dancing stage in a unitard, in a room full of strangers._

_At least, he thought he was, initially._

_As he looked around, wondering where the instructor could be, he suddenly saw a girl in the distance he immediately recognized from school. She may be wearing a tutu and slippers, but with that dark purple shoulder-length hair, olive skin complexion, and dark scarlet lipstick, it was unmistakably Amanda Lopez._

_Milo's cheeks flushed. He wasn't aware that the girl he secretly crushed on since third grade would show up here. He felt brave and decided to approach her._

_"Hey Amanda", Milo greeted, smiling._

_Amanda startled when she heard someone greeting her in a very familiar voice. She looked up and was able to confirm her fears when she saw Milo Murphy, the living embodiment of chaos and imperfection._

_Not that she disliked Milo (in fact, Milo's a really nice person). It's just that his presence_ usually _bore bad news: that pesky Murphy's Law Milo was born with could ruin absolutely anything and everything on a bad day, and Amanda, being someone who prefers anything and everything to go exactly as planned, would rather want as few bad days as possible._

_She especially didn't want today to be one._

_"H-hey Milo", Amanda stuttered nervously, attempting to fake a smile. "Wh-what are you doing here?"_

_"Oh, I'm here because of the open house, you know?" Milo answered casually. "I want to try out ballet for a bit, want to see what it's like and all. What about you?"_

_"O-oh, I actually have ballet classes here", Amanda replied. "Have been doing that for several years."_

_"Really? That sounds great!" Milo lit up in awe. "I'd love to see what you can do. I-if you don't mind, that is."_

_Amanda shifted her eyes around, considering Milo's request._

_"...I suppose I could show you what I've learned", Amanda finally replied._

_Amanda walked towards a more empty space in the hall, so she'd have more room for a performance. She was being careful about choosing a spot: it had to be far enough away from Milo, so she wouldn't fall victim to Murphy's Law too easily; however, it also had to be close enough towards Milo, so he can actually see her performance clearly. Having chosen a perfect spot, she then waited for a bit until a new music track was playing._

_To the music, she began dancing, performing steps, pirouettes, allegros, and several other poses Milo didn't know were called. What Milo did know from watching Amanda's performance, though, that she really knows her stuff and danced just as beautifully as she looked like._

_Not that her appearance was the only thing Milo liked about her. He also admired her smarts, precision and strife for perfection; things that are normally impossible for a Murphy like him to achieve without determination, optimism, and a little luck._

_Regardless, Amanda's ballet performance not only made him fall in love all over again, but also made him want to dance just as well as she could._

_Meanwhile, Amanda was enjoying dancing so much that she had forgotten about her fears for Murphy's Law. So much in fact, that during her dance, she got a bit uncharacteristically daring, as she suddenly grabbed Milo's hands, silently inviting him to dance along and transforming her solo act into a_ pas de deux _. Milo didn't have much of an idea what to do, so he mainly followed Amanda's lead as they performed more steps to the music._

_Unfortunately, Murphy's Law soon struck, as a plank in the floor suddenly sprang loose, and Amanda tripped over it._

_"Aah!"_

_"Amanda, look out", Milo warned, as he grabbed her waist just before her face could make impact. She then faced Milo as she held onto him via his neck, making the both of them blush as they held onto their pose for a few beats._

_Milo then realized he was wasting time, and pulled Amanda back up, who then made another pirouette. She then ended her dance with a front split, soon followed by a front split from Milo. Nearby dancers applauded as Amanda got back up._

_"You're not half bad for a rookie, Milo", Amanda complimented with a genuine smile, before she noticed Milo hadn't gone up from his split yet. "Uh, Milo?"_

_She then noted Milo has pulled a nervous grimace as if he's experiencing some kind of pain, realizing Milo's leg joints must've not been flexible enough, causing him to be painfully stuck in his pose._

_Just as Milo was asking for a little help, Amanda helped getting Milo back up standing with joints back in place._

_"Phew, thanks Amanda", Milo sighed. "Hoo, that's a nasty split..."_

_He turned to Amanda "Say, you were really good yourself. Why, amazing, even!"_

_"Well, like I said, I had a few years of practice", Amanda blushed, flattered at the compliment._

_Right then, Murphy's Law struck again, as Milo accidentally stepped on the loose plank, not only hitting his face with it, but also causing more planks to go loose in the process. Soon enough, the entire flooring got loose, making it unusable to dance on as everyone either tripped over the planks or stepped on one end, causing the other end to propel upwards._

_Amanda, having just remembered the concept of Murphy's Law, held her jaw wide open out of shock, as Milo frowned and glanced away out of guilt._

* * *

"...and because of that, the ballet hall had to be closed down for the rest of the day", Milo finished. "I hadn't performed ballet again ever since, but I'm glad I've done it at least once. Also, I watch Amanda's performances on KazooTube."

"It's a memory I both loved and hated at the same time: I enjoyed the dance, but then Murphy's law ruined the hall for an entire day", Amanda added. "But ever since I got on Cake 'Splosion, I've been looking back at it more fondly."

"Huh, I wonder why", Melissa smirked with pretend thought. "Maybe it's totally the fact that you two had a romantic dance that you, Amanda, initiated?"

Amanda's eyes widened at the claim. " _It was not a romantic dance!_ " she shouted in a kneejerk reaction, blushing madly. "The dancing just got me in the mood, that's all!"

"Suuuuure", Melissa grinned.

"Anyway, so you joined ballet class some years back, right?" Lydia asked.

"Yeah. It's because it's actually my second favorite type of dance", Amanda clarified. "So calm and serene, and well-choreographed. It's like figure skating without skates, and reminds me so much about opera, but without the singing!"

"And interpretive dance isn't like that?" Zack questioned.

"Oh, right, interpretive dance is kinda like an opera performance as well", Amanda realized

"Anyway, remind me to add the Ballet Incident to your Adventures catalogue on my phone when we're done here", Melissa told Milo.

"But isn't the catalogue full of photos?" Milo asked. "You only have a testimony."

"I don't mind a text document or two inbetween the photos", Melissa shrugged. "Plus, I'm sure _someone_ made a photo of the wreckage afterwards."

* * *

The quintet have reached the entrance to the Danville Dance Hall. Going inside, the quintet entered its large foyer. Many a person are wandering around the foyer, as several signs point towards the different activities the open house was offering today.

Not even knowing when to start, the teens were observing the entire foyer. Naturally, there were activities for ballet and interpretive dance, but also many others, such as hip-hop, rumba, and capoeira of all things. Milo was pondering what he should try out this time, as he suddenly heard a very excitable yelp coming from Amanda.

"AHH!", she cried loudly, as she ran off. " _Dios mío_ , they're doing it!"

"Hey, where're you going?" Milo asked, as he followed her.

"And what do you mean, 'they're doing it'?" Zack added, as he, Melissa and Lydia followed suit. "Doing _what_?!"

Finally, they stopped as they saw Amanda move excitably up and down in front of a large poster depicting a dancing couple of opposing genders. The male wore a white shirt and suspenders while the female wore a black dress and stockings. They held each other closely while striking a pose.

There was also text surrounding the image. It read the following:

'TANGO DANCE COMPETITION Next Week!

'Get ready to go footloose as the Danville Dance Hall organizes a Tango Teen Couples Dance-Off on May 16th at 8:00 PM to test its waters and judge interest for tango lessons. The duo who struts their stuff best will get $2000 prize money each. Only teams of two inbetween the ages 13-18 are allowed to participate. It takes two to _tango_ , after all!

'(Romantic partners and/or best friends recommended!)

'Participation sign-up straight ahead on the right'

"So what's all this about", Melissa asked Amanda, as the former observed the poster.

"Remember a few minutes ago when I said ballet is my _second_ favorite type of dance?" Amanda asked excitedly. "Well, THIS IS MY _MOST_ FAVORITE! The rhythm, the poses, the emotion, the _music_!" Amanda pulled of a chef's kiss. "It all gets to me. It just oozes thrills, drama and even romantic tension. A carefully orchestrated tango might even pull of all three in absolute perfection, and would definitely be one of the most romantic things EVER! ...In my opinion, of course."

"Wow, you definitely make tango sound so exciting", Milo replied to Amanda. "I'd love to try it!"

"Me too, and this dancing competition finally gives me the opportunity to actually do it", Amanda gleamed with clasped hands.

"...Tango is your number one favorite dance, yet you never even tried it?" Zack questioned.

"I never really got the opportunity to try out the tango when I learned about it", Amanda admitted. "Two people are required to perform a tango, so mimicking the motions is difficult when your only available dance partner is a broom, let alone doing it on your own. My sister Ariana is too young, my cousin Teresa's practically an adult, and my parents advised to not pick just a random _Juan Pérez_ off the streets, and instead choose someone which I have a close intimacy with."

"Ah, I see, and since this hall never offered any tango lessons before, that was also out of the question", Lydia surmised.

"Exactly!" Amanda confirmed. "To this day, I still struggle to understand how they have a capoeira class, but not a tango one. But that might change!"

"Lemme guess, you're gonna enter this dance competition just to try out the tango, not unlike that time, Milo, Zack and I entered that Battle of the Bands competition with Mort to practice our band performance", Melissa grinned.

"Of course!" Amanda replied. "I'm not going to pass up on a chance like this, especially if it will lead to more! Heck, I don't even care if I lose. Trying out the tango is on its own already a dream come true."

"But who will your partner be?" Zack asked. "Just a minute ago, you said you only had a broom for a dance partner."

"Yes, but that was _then_ ", Amanda clarified. "But in this past half year, I have learned more about _someone_ here that I've known since first grade, and have gotten really close and intimate with him since... So maybe, if he wants to..."

Amanda glanced and nudged towards Milo, who had quickly picked up that she was talking about him.

"W-wow, I'll be honored to, but... aren't you afraid Murphy's law won't ruin the dance hall like the Ballet Incident last year?" Milo asked concerned.

"Milo, that was then", Amanda said, inching in towards him with a smile. "But I have since realized that you are able to improvise a solution, fix and improve on the damage, and even prevent any upcoming problems... all with your carefully filled, second-hand backpack."

Milo nervously opened his mouth in an attempt to respond, but Amanda intercepted: "And I know that wearing a backpack is probably not allowed, but that's not where I'm getting at. The point is, I don't really care about Murphy's Law that much anymore. Because I trust _you_."

This seemed to have calmed Milo down, as a more relieved smile crept on his face. "Well, if that's the case, then I'll be happy to be your dance partner."

All of a sudden, Amanda tightly hugged Milo in response as a thank-you, making Milo blush.

He could briefly smell Amanda's sweet perfume. It smelled like cherry blossom mixed with vanilla.

Amanda grabbed Milo's hand, as she ran through the passageway right, dragging him along. "Come on, Milo, the sign-ups are this way!"

"I'm coming, Amanda", Milo replied.

Seeing the two disappear in the passageway, Lydia asked Zack and Melissa: "So, on a scale of 1 to 100, how much do you think their ballet backstory comes back into play?"

"I doubt it will have any relevance to the future", Zack deadpanned with half-lidded eyes, "making me wonder why there was so much focus on it."

"Oooor our two lovebirds will have this big moment that parallels a moment of their flashback", Melissa theorized. "There's your justification for the focus."

"Like that will ever happen", Zack disputed.

"Wanna bet on it?"

Before Zack could accept Melissa's bet, they and Lydia noticed a particular pair of teens around their age passing by them, walking down the same passageway as Milo and Amanda earlier.

"Hey", Zack noted, "aren't they...?"

"Pretty sure they are, yeah", Melissa intercepted, seemingly confirming Zack's thoughts.

"I recognize them from when I watched TV", Lydia added. "And I dunno about you guys, but from what I have seen back then, I'm not sure they can be trusted to play fairly."

"Oh, Zack and I have been there _live_ , sister", Melissa replied, squinting her eyes. "I know about their cheating all too well. But what may be allowed back then, I'm sure won't fly by here..."

"...So we gonna follow them", Zack asked, "orrrrr...?"

"Of course we are, Zack", Melissa replied, grabbing his hand. "Let's go!" The two went through the same passageway.

Lydia followed suit at a more leisurely pace, as she said: "You know I'm not your sister, right?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back with a new story! Although, this was actually written months ago, as did a few other chapters andI did basically nothing afterwards... sigh.
> 
> But I always wanted to see Milo and Amanda have some kind of ballroom dance performance after we were robbed of one in "School Dance". I imagined that Milo accidentally saw Amanda one day doing ballet, and then they'd enter a dance competition. I had made Amanda's dancing passion Tango, however, because Amanda's a Latina, like how Tango's Argentinian. I'm not entirely sure if Amanda's an Argentinian as well though: some believe she's Cuban like her VA.
> 
> Anyway, I have only completed a few more chapters and those were written months ago, so don't expect frequent updates on this one. See you later!


	2. A Familiar Pair of Stubborn Rivals

When Milo and Amanda arrived at the end of the passageway, they found a figure behind the makeshift receptionist desk they recognized from a few months back, flattop and all.

"Hello, Mr Blunt", Amanda greeted.

"Hello Amanda", Mr Blunt greeted back in his usual gruff, but friendly tone. "And hello you too, Milo."

"Hey Mr Blunt, haven't seen you since you put us in detention back when you substituted for art class", Milo replied. "How's your dance troupe coming along?"

"Mr Blunt has actually been working here at the staff for the past few weeks to gain experience and find recruits at the same time", Amanda explained to Milo.

"Yep, and you gotta keep bringing food on the table, too", Mr Blunt added. "Looking for recruits to your troupe doesn't make as much money when you don't have a job, after all. How're you kids?"

"Very well, actually. Amanda's excited to hear the Dance Hall's organizing a tango dance competition next week, so we came here to sign up as contestants", Milo explained, as Amanda nodded giddily. "To actually try it out."

"Ah yes, I know about her passion for tango", Mr Blunt noted, as he picked an unfilled sign-up form from a stack of them. "I'm personally more of a ballet type of guy, but I can see why one would like it. And hey, you two also like ballet anyway."

Mr Blunt then laid down a pencil. "Alright, you two will have to fill in this form, and then the rest of the staff will take care of it."

Milo and Amanda wrote down the required information in the form and returned it to Mr Blunt.

"Alright, you're in", Mr Blunt confirmed. "See you kids next week! Oh, and have fun at the open house today!"

"We will, thank you", Amanda replied.

However, just as she and Milo were about to leave, a voice intercepted.

"Well well, if it isn't Murph and Lope, from Danville's Jefferson County Middle School."

Milo and Amanda turned around, seeing a pair of teenagers around their age. One was a boy with a dark tan skin, black hair, pointed nose and a green scarf. The other was a girl with fairer skin, blonde hair, make-up and a green bow headband.

"Oh hey, it's Anthony and Ashley from Huntington Hill's Park Shores Estates Middle School", Milo noted. "It's been a while since we saw you guys at Cake 'Splosion last winter. How are you two doing?" Milo suck out his hand towards Anthony.

"Don't talk to us like that, peasant", Anthony spoke coldly, swatting Milo's hand away as he and Ashley walked past him and Amanda. "We aren't here to dawdle around losers like you."

"...Didn't we win from you last time we met?" Amanda pointed out.

"A fleeting, one-time victory", Anthony waved aside, reaching the receptionist desk. "We are here to participate in the Tango Teen Couples Dance-Off", he then spoke to Mr Blunt.

"And win", Ashley added.

Mr Blunt gave the duo their form. "Alright, here's your form."

As Anthony and Ashley filled in their form, Milo attempted another conversation. "So, you joining for fun, as well?"

"Uh, no", Anthony denied. "We came here as soon as we heard of this dance-off, and we will win it to prove that I'm-"

" _We_ , are the best tango dancers in the Tri-State Area", Ashley finished, as she gave the filled form to Mr Blunt.

"Cool! Wish ya good luck!" Milo smiled.

"Don't you 'good luck' us, loser", Ashley retorted, turning to Milo.

"Honestly Murph, you and your perfectionist girlfriend might as well give up", Anthony gloated. "Ashley and I will trounce anyone on the dance floor. Both of you are unskilled, and you in particular have bad luck chasing you on your heels."

"Oh, we're not here for the win", Amanda corrected.

"Yeah, I thought so", Anthony grinned. "You two don't usually win unless your bad luck takes a break and some contrived plot device feels pity for you, do you? It's how you won Cake 'Splosion over us, after all."

"Uh, actually, we won because of our skills on that one", Milo corrected. "I mean, we delivered the cake to Mr Bravo, albeit in an extreme fashion, and he liked the cake."

"He found it **MOIST** ", Amanda added.

"Yeah", Milo giggled at Amanda's impression. "Besides, any case of Murphy's Law was handled expertly by Amanda and I, using everything I had packed carefully in my backpack, and that while making the cake."

"Pft, so you really think you can beat us this time, too?" Ashley scoffed.

"Nono, I just want to try out my favorite dance for the first time", Amanda corrected. "I don't expect to win the competition."

"Of course you wouldn't, with Murph on your side", Anthony sneered. "So that means you admit you won against us because of luck at Cake 'Splosion?"

"That's not what we're saying at all!"

"Then it's a challenge!" Anthony declared. "If you can win from us, we will mow your backyard lawns, but if we win from you, you will mow ours instead."

"Be careful: Anthony and I come from rich families with REALLY large gardens", Ashley warned.

"Wait, we don't want to challenge you!" Amanda desperately spoke.

"Yeah, we only want to join the competition for fun!" Milo added.

"That's not gonna work, I'm afraid", Anthony tsked. "Either you admit that you won from us by pure luck, or you prove to us that you're better by winning from us at the tango."

"So we're either forced to lie that we lack any skills on my favorite TV show, or we're forced to compete in a battle we will lose and mow your extremely large lawns?!" Amanda asked.

"You can always forfeit the Dance-Off..." Anthony grinned.

"But this could be my only chance to try the tango", Amanda cried.

"Not to mention that you might force us to mow your lawns at a forfeit anyways", Milo pointed out.

"That's right! No matter how you look at it, it's not gonna be fair!"

Milo, Amanda, Anthony and Ashley looked up where the other voice came from, only to see Melissa Chase alongside Zack and Lydia.

"Oh hey Melissa, Zack, Lydia", Milo greeted. "Guess what? Anthony and Ashley from that time Amanda and I were on Cake 'Splosion are _also_ going to compete!"

" _Oh, I've heard the entire thing, don't worry Milo_ ", Melissa leered.

"What do you peasants want?" Anthony asked Melissa. "Can't you see we're busy with Murph and Lope?"

"First of all, their last names are Mur _phy_ and Lo _pez_ , and second, you guys are being completely unreasonable", Melissa claimed. "They don't want to join your stupid game; they just want to have fun."

"And admit that they were only lucky to have won against us at Cake 'Splosion?" Anthony questioned.

"You guys seem to care a lot about Milo and Amanda having won against you that one time", Lydia pointed out.

"Yeah, sounds like you guys are really bitter that you lost against them, and only made up this challenge as some kind of rematch", Zack theorized.

"Which you two shouldn't even be salty about, since you _cheated to get in the finals in the first place!_ " Melissa pointed out.

"Us, cheating?" Anthony spoke offended. "We don't cheat!"

"Oh come on, a five-year old can see that you have sabotaged the other teams when the judges weren't looking", Melissa fired back.

"Releasing a jar of ants in a chocolate castle for them to eat up whole..." Zack added.

"...launching cans of whipped cream to demolish another cake with a ship..." Lydia continued.

"... _and_ performing a false start at the final round", Melissa finished. "I don't care if it was 'allowed', but you have no right to complain that Milo and Amanda won when _they_ got there fair and square, while you two had to resort to cheating and sabotage. And _that_ while Murphy's Law could've made it worse for Milo already!"

"Humph, you may say that we cheated at Cake 'Splosion", Ashley scoffed.

"...But we can promise you that won't happen with the Tango Teen Couples Dance-Off", Anthony continued, "for _I_ -"

" _We_."

" _We_ , are expert tango dancers. We have won the local tango competition at Park Shores Estates Middle School, and the local tango teen contest from the rest of Huntington Hill."

"And we have the proof to back it up, in case you don't believe us", Ashley stated, as she and Anthony pulled up their phones, each showing a photo. On Ashley's, the two were wearing gold medals and holding 1st place certificates for the Park Shores Estates' tango competition. Anthony's photo had them carrying a trophy for ranking 1st in the Huntington Hill tango teen contest.

"So it's safe to say we're the best among Huntington Hill's teenage dancers. And now, _we_ are going to prove we're the best among every other teen in the Tri-State Area! Starting with Danville's TTCDO."

"You are _so_ sure of that?" Melissa asked. "Then, I suppose, you can trounce Zack and I as well, then?"

Zack widened his eyes. "Uh, Melissa, what are you doing?"

"Playing _their_ game", Melissa nonchalantly replied, as she dragged Zack to the reception desk. "Mr Blunt, we are going to compete as well."

"Huh, well alright, I suppose", Mr Blunt replied, giving Melissa and Zack a form as well. The two filled in the necessary details (although Zack did so with uncertainty about what Melissa was planning) and returned the form to Blunt, all while Milo, Amanda, Anthony and Ashley looked back in sheer confusion.

"Oh, and may I also have an empty sheet of paper?" Melissa asked Mr Blunt. "I need to write something down."

Mr Blunt gave Melissa what she asked for, who spend a good few minutes writing on it with a ballpoint pen she had on her person. Once finished, she picked up the piece of paper and went back to Anthony and Ashley.

"Here I have an agreement you lot can sign. When you do so, you agree that if you win against both of our teams, Milo, Amanda, Zack and I will mow your lawns, and otherwise, you will mow all four of our lawns instead.

Anthony and Ashley read the agreement, then signed it both. "It's a deal!" both of them said.

"Good", Melissa grinned. "Now, how about you, Milo, Amanda?"

"Uh, Melissa, can we have a time-out?" Milo asked.

"Of course", Melissa agreed. "I'm sure you have a lot of questions."

Melissa, Zack, Milo and Amanda moved away from Anthony and Ashley towards and empty corner.

"Melissa, this is crazy!" Amanda whispered angrily. "I only wanted to try out tango, why are you dragging us into their stupid competition further?"

"Yeah, we can't win against tango experts like them, even if they didn't play fair in something completely different", Milo agreed.

"And why am I forced to compete as well?" Zack asked in whispers.

"Calm down, everyone", Melissa whispered. "I am well aware that none of us really want this, but Anthony and Ashley are obviously too obsessed with beating you to want anything else, so we gotta play along. With me and Zack in the game, we can at least soften the blow for you guys and make it more equal: four kids mowing two extremely large lawns vs two kids mowing four moderate ones sounds way more fair than two kids mowing two extremely large lawns vs two kids mowing two moderate ones."

Milo, Amanda and Zack pondered.

"...Well, I suppose that sounds indeed more fair", Milo eventually whispered.

"I suppose spending time with Milo, and you two as well, would still be fun, regardless how tedious the task is", Amanda realized.

"I guess I'm in, too", Zack shrugged, "but I still think it's kinda risky."

"Maybe not as much as you think", Melissa smiled, as she handed over her pen and allowed them to sign.

Returning to Anthony and Ashley, she stated: "Okay, all six of us have signed this agreement." She then turned to Lydia. "Lydia, I entrust you on keeping the agreement. Don't lose it: everything written on that piece of paper is very important."

"You got it", Lydia said. She pulled her phone out of her pocket, made a photo of the agreement, and put both items back in her pocket. "No way I will lose it before next week now."

"Thanks, Lydia", Melissa smiled, as Milo, Amanda and Zack joined the two.

"Well, I guess that's that", Anthony grinned, as he and Ashley walked past the quintet. "See you losers next week."

"And don't forget to bring your lawnmower", Ashley added, seemingly towards Amanda. "You're gonna need it, with me being Anthony's partner... and Murph being your _burden_!"

As the duo disappeared from sight, Zack asked: "Uh, we don't have to do their yard work right away when we lose, right?"

"Don't be silly, Zack", Lydia chuckled. "The agreement states that you'll have to start the week after."

"Yep, and I also planned out designated times for when the losers are expected to start", Melissa explained. "For example, Anthony and Ashley will have to spend one yard a day, while we have to spend half a yard a day; both cumulating in two weekends each."

"You know, maybe it's because Milo and I were busy baking our cake, but I do not remember Anthony and Ashley being this... obnoxious", Amanda admitted.

"They seem just as equally determined to win, though", Milo said.

Melissa walked towards Mr Blunt. "Mr Blunt, you were a substitute arts teacher. Did you, by any chance, encounter Anthony and Ashley before?"

"No, but I have seen countless of students like them", Mr Blunt responded, squinting his eyes. "The preppy, snooty, smart-alec students that think they're better than you and don't give you a single ounce of respect, not even when you put them on detention... and I have put countless of kids like those on detention. Having met so many kids like that has made me forget what I liked so much about art, and made me put any kid with smart-alec comments on detention..."

"Wait, I thought cramped hands, shattered dreams and washing dishes for 15 years made you forget what you like about art", Zack pointed out.

"See, _that's_ the kind of smart-alec comment that makes me paranoid", Mr Blunt told Zack. "The kind of comment why I put _you lot_ on detention back then!"

"... _I_ wasn't being put on detention", Lydia commented.

"There! Again a comm-" Mr Blunt began to complain, before he stopped himself and breathed in. "I'm losing myself."

"Sorry about that, Mr Blunt", Milo apologized.

"It's not your fault", Mr Blunt dismissed. "Just go have fun at the open house and the upcoming tournament, will ya?"

"Will do", the five teens chorused, as they left.

While Milo and the gang were walking down the passageway back to the foyer, Milo could not help but to think of what Ashley had said when she and Anthony left.

 _"...and Murph being your_ burden _!"_

Her stating such a thing, especially the way she phrased 'burden', gave Milo an uneasy feeling he couldn't shake off, especially given the context that Anthony and Ashley are so confident about themselves.

It's true that Murphy's Law could ruin absolutely every occasion at the least predictable, most random moment. It's also true that Milo had been teased, bullied, and outcasted because of his inherited condition. Usually, Milo took those things in stride: there were plenty of times Murphy's Law hadn't hindered anyone as much at all, and sometimes even _helped_ them instead. And, people nowadays liked him. He didn't have a lot of bullies, if at all.

But for some reason, this time it felt different.

Maybe it was because he was now very close with Amanda Lopez, who would've abhorred Murphy's Law half a year ago. Yes, she isn't afraid to hang out with Milo anymore, but that was only since last winter. And Amanda had known about Milo since first grade, about six and a half years ago.

And old habits die hard.

Milo figured that, if Murphy's Law struck hard enough under certain conditions that required utmost delicacy, it would be very possible Amanda might snap back and avoid Milo like the plague. This theory was usually hidden deep in the back of his mind, but thanks to Ashley's remark, the idea somehow got in front and center of Milo's thoughts.

Milo shook his head. _"Don't be ridiculous, Milo"_ , he thought to himself. _"Amanda's not gonna leave you that easily. It'll take something more catastrophic than even the Sphere of Calamity for her to even consider that. Besides, she wanted to tango for fun, she doesn't care about winning or losing. Yes, that was before there were any stakes, but it's spending an entire weekend mowing grass at worst. There's_ no way _she's going to hate you just because of a single, disastrous evening!"_

Milo found himself back in the foyer, as he followed Amanda to the ballet room, smiling and making sure to enjoy the open house as much as he could while trying to not let any bad thoughts get the better of him.

Despite that, though, Ashley's claim of Milo being a hindrance was still stuck in his mind, and any bad thoughts of Amanda giving up on Milo would still linger...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise: Anthony and Ashley from "Cake 'Splosion" return! They never had any dialogue in that episode, however, but their appearances and actions tell me that they are confident, quite snooty, low enough to resort to sabotage, and a hint that they can't quite get along with each other themselves, so I based their dialogue and personalities on that.
> 
> I also brought back Mr Blunt from "The Mid-Afternoon Snack Club", because why not.
> 
> I suppose that Milo being triggered by Ashley's remark might seem a bit out of character for him, given that he's been called worse and took those better. But I believe this time is a bit different, now Amanda is with him and reciprocating his feelings. I guess it's natural for him to think that, given Amanda's perfectionism, enough chaos can easily cause her to reset to zero and forsake Milo. Amanda has grown, though, so I will dedicate a chapter about her reassuring Milo and get him back to his senses in the future. I haven't written it yet, but I'll make sure it'll be a very, very sweet part.
> 
> Well, that's all I got for today. See ya later!


	3. The First Practice Session

Several hours later, Milo, Melissa, Amanda, Zack and Lydia were finally ready to leave the Danville Dance Hall and return home. They had a grand time there: Amanda still got to show off some of her ballet skills, but Milo decided to pass up for this year, admiring Amanda from the seating. Fortunately, the worst thing that happened this time was that, when Milo leaned on one end of the wooden rail of the paneling in front of him, the other end got loose and hit someone else on the chin.

Milo, Melissa, Zack and Amanda already already notified their parents about the upcoming tango competition, as well as Anthony and Ashley's challenge. They already had arranged Amanda to visit Milo, while Zack would visit Melissa. They are currently waiting at the bus stop.

"Well, despite the setback from Anthony and Ashley, I'd say today was pretty good", Melissa said with an especially smug grin.

"Yeah, nothing went majorly wrong", Milo added, somewhat surprised. "There was that guardrail thing, but that's it, really."

"Hold on", Zack intercepted, "I think Melissa might be talking about something else."

"Yes and no", Melissa smirked. "I had decided to ask people to send me pictures of the Ballet Incident last year for the catalogue. I may have lost 25 dollars, but I did get 12 juicy pictures in return." Melissa viewed a photo of Milo and Amanda, when the latter was being caught by the former after tripping.

" _¡Ay!_ " Amanda shrieked, blushing madly. "Why'd you have to show us _that_ photo?"

"You wanted a photo of the room being an absolute wreck instead?" Melissa asked rhetorically. "I figured that might've given you an aneurysm."

Amanda covered her reddening face with her hands.

"C'mon, it's not _that_ bad of a photo", Melissa said. "It reflects you and Milo nowadays, at least, and you're not ashamed of that, are you?"

"...you got a point", Amanda admitted, slowly uncovering her face.

"Then embrace it", Melissa suggested, allowing Amanda to take another peek. "You said you look back at the Ballet Incident more fondly now, right?"

Amanda took the photo in for a second time, thinking of what Melissa just said. Thinking back on the ballet performance she did in front of Milo, and eventually shared with him, Amanda started blushing as a smile crept on her face.

"You're right, the memory is still really pleasant", Amanda admitted to Melissa. "I suppose I just found it a bit embarrassing because we were nothing more than just classmates back then."

"That's the ticket", Melissa grinned, as the bus arrived, and the five kids boarded it.

* * *

When Milo and Amanda finally arrived at the Murphy home, they were greeted by Sara.

"If it isn't the new tango superstar couple of the block", she teased as she lets Milo and Amanda in while the two blushed.

"Sara, we're just novices!" Milo spoke with a reddened face.

"Relax, little bro, I'm just teasing a bit", Sara chuckled. "Anyway, Mom and Dad are doing groceries, so I have prepared a makeshift practice room for the two of you, all by myself."

"Oh, I hope Dr Doofenshmirtz hasn't bothered you all too much", Amanda empathized.

"Actually, Dr D hasn't annoyed me at all for the past few hours, surprisingly enough", Sara revealed. "For some reason, he's been sitting in the living room reading this binder he received earlier this morning, with Cavenpus by his side as well."

Amanda looked up. She had almost forgotten that there was a new houseguest at the Murphys since the end of the winter: some kind of weird clone of Balthazar Cavendish stuck on the body of a platypus, created by Heinz Doofenshmirtz to help out Vinnie Dakota finding Cavendish, who was lost at the time (which, in the end, was pointless anyway). It was kind of regarded as an abomination, which makes sense to Amanda, but Cavenpus hated being called as such.

"Hey, maybe we can ask Dr D what he's up to", Milo suggested. "After all, I don't think I'm quite ready to practice immediately."

"I can show you some tango performances on KazooTube with my phone", Amanda told Milo.

"That's a really good idea", Milo complimented, as they entered the living room. They noticed Doof and Cavenpus sitting on the couch, with Doof heavily invested in a binder like Sara said, while Cavenpus was lazily staring at the blackness of the turned-off television screen, while holding an egg the size of a human hand.

Milo and Amanda plopped right next to them on the couch, huddled together as Amanda pulled out her phone and opened the KazooTube app.

"We're gonna start with this dance performance from 2012, on the song _Mi rosa roja_ by composer Carlos Jardín", Amanda stated. "It's a slower song, so it's easier to study the figures."

Amanda put on the video as the two watched it. They paid careful attention to the steps the dancers in the video performed, and how they did them to the slower rhythm of the song (which the two also paid attention to).

As the video finished, Amanda asked: "So, what do you think?"

Milo pondered. "I guess it's easy enough to pull it off. I gotta say though, I really understand why you want to try out the tango so much. It's nicely to the rhythm."

"Yeah, but I actually like the rhythm to be a bit more fast paced", Amanda admitted. "Or a rhythm that gets progressively faster: those get really emotional."

"Yeah, that sounds more exciting", Milo noted. "The music is still amazing, though: I really love the use of the violins and the bandoneons!"

"Wow, you can tell it's a bandoneon?" Amanda asked surprised. "When I heard it, I always think of a regular accordion first."

"Hey, you're looking at an expert accordion player", Milo bragged. "I have heard how a lot of accordion types sound like, owning an accordion and a concertina."

"I guess that's true, you rock on the accordion", Amanda said.

The banter between the two finally got Doofenshmirtz to look away from his binder. "What the heck are you two talking about?!"

"Oh, sorry, Dr D", Milo apologized. "Amanda and I have signed up for the Tango Teen Couples Dance-Off for next week, and got challenged by Anthony and Ashley to win against them, so we're going to prepare for it. Melissa and Zack will participate as well. Mom and Dad had told you, right?"

"Yeah yeah, I know about it", Doof replied. "Sorry, but I can't help you. And I'm sure Cavenpus can't help you either."

"Oh no, Dr D, we're not asking for your help", Amanda said.

"Yeah OK, I'm just saying", Heinz stated. "A-and I'm not sure rebuilding my Hoot-To-Vicky-Inator and rewire it into, I dunno, a Hoot-To-Anthony-And-Ashley-Inator would-"

"Please, Dr D, you don't have to help us if you don't want to", Milo interrupted.

"Don't want to?" Heinz asked. "But _of course_ I want to help you! But like I said, _I can't_ : I'm literally not allowed to help you!"

"Not allowed?" Milo and Amanda chorused, at the moment Sara walked into the living room.

"Yep", Doof nodded, holding up his binder. "You see, a few days ago, the Danville Dance Hall contacted _me_ of all people via email. They said that they've seen me as one of the judges at the End of Night 70s Style Roller Disco Dance Competition over at Skate Ashbury last winter, and wanted me to also be a judge on the Tango Teen Couples Dance-Off! What are the odds, right?"

"Wait, THAT'S what your binder's about?!" Sara asked.

Heinz nodded again. "Yeah, get this: it's the rulebook they sent me for the TTCDO. It explicitly says that I have to stay impartial to any party, which means I'm not allowed to help anyone out. Of course I knew that already, be-because I've been a judge before... twice, in fact. And since I know you two and your little friends as well, I'm gonna have to take off three points of both of your teams."

"...do you progressively take off more points to any participant you know the more times you're a judge?" Milo asked.

"Moreover, you do realize that as an impartial judge, you can't take points off just because you know the participant, right?" Cavenpus snarked.

"Eh, what do you know? You've never been a judge and are only two months old", Heinz commented.

"But I _have_ studied the dictionary", Cavenpus countered, "and it states that 'impartial' means that one treats every rival or disputant as equals; meaning you shouldn't give any of them an advantage or _dis_ advantage. And taking off points is exactly what a disad-"

" _Fine_ , fine!" Heinz intercepted. "They're getting no points taken off, sheesh!"

He turns to Milo and Amanda. "See, this is one thing why I can't stand Cavenpus sometimes."

"So, is... he, a judge as well?" Amanda asked. "You did say he can't help us, either."

"What? Nah, he has just never seen the tango before", Doof dismissed. "Guy thinks he's such a know-it-all when he's only two months old..."

"So what is he doing at the moment?"

"Well, I'm trying to hatch my egg", Cavenpus explained to Amanda. "You see, I had laid this egg a few months back, despite being half a day old, never having bred before, and being a male-"

"Three additional reasons why you're an abomination", Doof interrupted.

Cavenpus groaned, as he continued: "-but the blasted thing still hasn't hatched to this day, and I was expecting it to by the end of the same day I laid it!"

"Cavenpus has tried all sorts of methods to get that egg being hatched faster", Milo told Amanda.

"Exactly!" Cavenpus exclaimed. "I really hope it will come out soon, because maybe then I'll have someone that respects me for who I am. Aside from the Murphys, perhaps."

Amanda kinda felt sorry for the hybrid clone. Cavenpus was being revered as an abomination by many (including herself just ten minutes ago), but he just wants to fit in.

"Don't worry, Cavenpus", Amanda said, "maybe your egg will hatch very soon."

"I hope so", Cavenpus huffed.

"In the meantime, would you like to see me and Milo practice the tango?" Amanda offered. "I bet that would sound more entertaining than watching a black screen all day with that grouchy Dr Doofenshmirtz next to you."

"Hey!" Doof said in an offended tone.

Cavenpus pondered, paying no mind to Dr D next to him. "Well, alright then", he finally accepted.

"Okay then", Milo smiled. "Let's go, Amanda!"

* * *

As Milo, Amanda and Cavenpus arrived in the makeshift practice room (actually the attic), Amanda pulled out her phone again. "Now, as much I like faster-paced tango performances, I doubt we'll be able to follow the rhythm right from the start", she said. "So, we are going to begin with _Mi rosa roja_ again."

"Sounds good to me", Milo stated.

Amanda gave her phone to Cavenpus. "You press 'play' when we're ready, OK?"

"I got it", Cavenpus confirmed. "Um, but aren't you afraid that the floor might... break, or something? I have heard you used to be afraid of Murphy's Law-"

"Yes, _used to_ ", Amanda intercepted. "But I have learned from Milo that you need to be perseverant if you want something to be done: any mishap caused by Murphy's Law can be prevented with the right tools. If Murphy's Law manages to strike anyway, you can still fix things or even improve on it. And if all else fails, you can improvise a new solution."

"Besides, our insurance can pay for any injuries Amanda gets", Milo added.

"If you say so..." Cavenpus shrugged, as Milo and Amanda assume position. "Ready!" they shouted.

As Cavenpus pressed the 'play' button and _Mi rosa roja_ began, Milo and Amanda tried their best to mimic the steps, walks and poses they saw in the video from earlier. Held in open embrace as the two walked parallel, Milo thought: _"So far, so good..."_

The couple followed the beat as they got into slightly more complicated figures as the song progressed.

 _"Hey, I think I'm getting the hang of it"_ , Milo thought as he smiled towards Amanda, who smiled back at him. _"Maybe I'm not a-"_

_"-burden!"_

Milo cringed as he suddenly thought of Ashley's awful statement again. His face contorted into a bunch of uncertainties and began sweating, as Milo could think of nothing else but _that_ claim, on repeat.

 _"And Murph being your_ burden _!"_

 _"And Murph being your_ burden _!"_

 _"And Murph being your_ burden _!"_

 _"AnD mURPH BeIng yOUr_ bUR _-"_

" _¡Ay!_ My foot!"

Milo was brought back to reality when he heard Amanda shout all of a sudden. He realized that he may have stepped on Amanda's toes by accident.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry!" Milo apologized, as he stopped dancing.

"It's okay, Milo", Amanda sighed, alluding Milo to continue with the dance. "Knowing Murphy's Law, it had to happen at least once."

"...Yeah, I suppose you're right", Milo noted. "It's just Murphy's Law..."

* * *

Over the next few hours, Milo and Amanda attempted dancing again and again.

Every time, Milo began gaining confidence in his dancing.

Every time, he was being reminded of Ashley's taunt.

Every time, he stepped on Amanda's toes.

Step.

_"Burden!"_

" _¡Ay!_ "

Reset.

Step.

_"Burden!"_

" _¡Ay!_ "

Reset.

Cross-step.

_"Burden!"_

" _¡Ay!_ "

Reset.

Rinse and repeat.

After two hours of dancing, Milo and Amanda called it quits for today, sitting next to Cavenpus.

"Well, I must say, tango looks like something that could quite be marvelous", Cavenpus stated, "...but I would've liked it more if there were less stepping on toes involved."

"W-well, it's not supposed to be this involved", Amanda stated. "Speaking of which, your foot coordination does need some improvement: you must have stepped on my toes at least fifteen times."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right", Milo sighed. He felt bad. Normally, Milo would be excellent at dancing: heck, he was able to dance on roller skates! He had to teach his own parents to have them do the same! However, a _certain_ quote in his memory seemed to be constantly distracting him...

"Milo, is everything alright?" Amanda asked with concern.

Milo looked up. "Oh, uh, yeah, everything's _fine_ ", he claimed.

"Are you sure? You seem a little sad, and maybe a little distracted too."

"Nonono, it's _fine_ ", Milo reassured Amanda. "I just need to watch myself better. It's Murphy's Law, after all."

Amanda squinted her eyes. "Okaaay... if you say so..."

Her phone buzzed. She checked it, discovering that Melissa had just sent her a text.

"Oh, it looks like Melissa and Zack are just finished as well", she stated. "Melissa said Zack needs to iron out a few kinks, as he has stepped twelve times on her toes."

"Really? And how many times did Melissa step on Zack's?" Milo asked.

"... _Thirteen_ ", Amanda revealed with a grin. "But _she's_ the perfect one."

Milo and Amanda chuckled.

"Are you sure you're not supposed to step on your partner's feet?" Cavenpus asked.

"Well, anyway, I gotta go", Amanda told Milo, as she stood up to exit the attic. "My parents are probably waiting for me to join the dinner table."

"Yeah, probably", Milo agreed, as he followed Amanda.

"Hello, you didn't answer my question!" Cavenpus exasperated, following the both of them.

Outside the Murphy residence, Milo and Amanda hugged each other goodbye. "See you tomorrow, Amanda", Milo said.

"See you tomorrow as well", Amanda told back, waving Milo goodbye. "Remember to work on your footwork!"

"Yeah, will do", Milo shouted. "After all, it's just Murphy's Law!"

_"Yeah... just Murphy's Law... right?!"_

Or was it something else, after all...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been waaaay too long since I have updated this fic! What, almost three months? Hopefully I'll be able to release more chapters soon!
> 
> Also, I have made a reference to one of my previous fanfics in this one. I think you might be able to find it.


	4. Visiting Casa Lopez

_It was the night of the Tango Teen Couples Dance-Off, and Milo and Amanda were up alongside their competition._

_They started dancing, but everything went wrong: Milo constantly stepped on Amanda's toes, they stumbled and tripped over everyone else, and made a hole in the floor right where they landed, right onto a pipe which exploded. Splinters sprang loose and stabbed a live tango music performance. Violin bows flew in the air and activated fire sprinklers, ruining Amanda's makeup and Milo's quiff._

_Milo and Amanda were deemed dead last, right as Anthony and Ashley were quite literally dancing circles around them in outstanding class. Roses were being flung to Anthony and Ashley, the two being able to catch one with their mouth each. They were declared the winners._

_But as Milo soon found out, the worst was about to happen. The poor boy saw Amanda's face contort from a sad expression to an extremely angry one. An angry one full of spite. He winced when she suddenly turned that angry, spiteful face towards him!_

_"This is awful"_ , _Amanda yelled angrily at Milo as tears began to form in Amanda's eyes, further ruining her mascara. "Thanks to_ you _, we lost! Worse, we lost in the most embarrassing, most humiliating way possible! This is the_ worst day _of my_ **entire life** _by a long shot!"_

_Milo stammered: "B-b-but-"_

_"No buts, mister!"_ _Amanda intercepted._ _"We are_ THROUGH _! I never want to see your face ever again on this forsaken planet! I'll ask Mamá to move to the moon by tomorrow! Go die in a hole and farewell, you_ jinx _!"_

_She slapped Milo across the face and stormed off, as Milo began forming tears in his eyes, rubbing against his stinging left cheek, still marked with Amanda's handprint._

_"Wow, it looks like you lost your girlfriend... forever!"_ _Anthony suddenly began taunting Milo, as he and Ashley still danced circles around him._

 _"That's what you get for being a loser of a burden, Murph!"_ _Ashley taunted further._

 _"Not just a burden... a jinx!"_ _Anthony added. "A pathetic, burdensome jinx that can only make things worse! Who would actually wanna be around him?"_

_Anthony and Ashley continued circling around Milo, calling him names like "loser", "burden", "jinx", etcetera, as Milo grasped his head. He was crying as tears not just rolled, but streamed down his cheeks, across the hurting mark, making it sting even more._

_Milo tried his hardest to ignore the tormenting like he usually does, but this time, it was too difficult, with no thanks to constant barrage of Murphy's Law, Amanda's anger and the very vocal breakup, all of it happening in seconds apart of each other. Add the humiliation of all of those, and the pressure quickly grew to be too much to handle, as Milo screamed._

"AAH!" Milo yelled, as he suddenly found himself in his bedroom.

Milo looked around, slightly confused at the change of scenery and slowly regaining senses.

He puffed out of relief. Turns out all that awful stuff he just experienced was just a bad dream. He hoped he hadn't woke up anyone else with his yell. He felt that explaining his nightmare about Amanda breaking up with him to his parents might get a bit awkward.

Though, he wondered: _could_ it still happen? Would Amanda really forsake and be estranged from him if they would lose like that?

Milo shook his head, shaking off the bad thought. _"Naaah, that would never happen"_ , Milo thought, smiling. _"Amanda doesn't care about winning, she said so herself. Even if the dance went horribly wrong, she would've still enjoyed it, right?"_

But truthfully, Milo was still unable to shake off the uneasy feeling, as it creeped back in his mind.

_"...R-right?"_

* * *

The next morning, Milo was making himself breakfast. Today, he and Amanda would practice tango dancing at her place. Truthfully, he was a bit nervous. This would be the first time he'd enter Amanda's abode, as well as properly meeting her parents. They have seen each other at Cake 'Splosion, but that's about it. They never really talked to each other, so Milo didn't know what they're like. He was actually wondering if Amanda was raised by her parents to be such a perfectionist, and if that's the case, Milo was thinking that they might be very critical of Murphy's Law, just like Melissa's dad.

It's of course a very understandable fear for any parent that their child could get hurt in some way, especially in his case. So, he supposed that if he had to try his hardest to show his commitment for Amanda and in turn win her parents over, then so be it.

There was a tiny voice in his head that hoped Amanda had been very laudatory about Milo to her parents, though. He had a feeling overly critical parents were definitely not going to help him be at ease this week.

* * *

Around 12:30, Milo stepped on the porch of the Lopez residence, and rang the doorbell. As the front door opened, he was greeted by a brown-skinned man with short, spiked hair, a goatee equally short, and wearing a cerulean polo shirt. Milo recognized him as Amanda's father.

"Ah, you must be Milo", Mr Lopez noted.

"That's right", Milo nodded.

Soon after, Milo recognized Amanda running towards him and her dad.

"Milo! You're here", she exclaimed, hugging Milo after her dad let her pass.

Amanda was followed by a younger, pig-tailed girl with the same dark purple hair color and olive-colored skintone, wearing cerise overalls and a red and white-striped t-shirt.

"Ooh, is that your boyfriend, Amanda?" the little girl asked. "He looks cute together with you!"

Milo blushed at the girl's comment, but Amanda blushed even harder.

"ARIANA!" Amanda yelled angrily and embarrassedly at the girl, face as red as a tomato, "he's NOT my- I mean, he's just a- um..."

Amanda, shifting her eyes back and forth between Milo and her little sister, was struggling what words to choose to describe the Murphy boy.

"He's... he's Milo", she eventually concluded.

Ariana pulled a knowing smirk. "Riiiiiiight..."

"That's quite enough", Mr Lopez intercepted, trying to keep his two daughters from fighting. "Come right in, Milo. We just finished lunch."

Milo took the invitation and followed the Lopezes through the hallway.

"So... you're the boy where anything can and will go wrong around you...?" Mr Lopez asked Milo.

"Yep, it's because I'm a Murphy", Milo replied. "I understand you don't want to get a lot broken around here, so I guess showing me around the house is out of the question-"

"Oh no, we're not going to be rude", Mr Lopez insisted. "If you want to be shown around the house, then we can show you. Just keep your distance and don't touch anything, you know."

"You don't have to worry, Papi", Ariana chimed in. "As a Fireside Girl, I just got my 'Quick 'n Seamless Restoration' patch last week. I can clean up any case of Murphy's Law! No one will be able to tell Amanda's boyfriend has ever been here!"

Amanda grumbled with a tomato red face as her little sister keeps insisting she and Milo are already dating.

"Besides, I can also prevent or fix a lot using the things I've stored in my backpack", Milo stated.

"Ooooh, resourceful", Ariana grinned. "You're _really_ good at picking a soulmate, Amanda!"

"Please stop calling him my boyfriend", Amanda muttered in embarrassment. She turned to Milo. "You'll have to excuse my little sister. She loves romance stories, and loves teasing me about anything you can imagine."

"That's alright, siblings love to tease each other, after all", Milo responded.

Milo then noticed clear tubes hanging around the ceiling. "Hey, what's with those tubes hanging around the house?" he asked.

Suddenly, two mice, one white and another gray, ran through said tubes.

"Well, since I had kept Muffin and Bitey as pet mice, I had devised a tunneling system around the entire house so they'd be able to move around freely", Amanda explained. "Papá helped me build it."

"Wow, that's so cool, Amanda", Milo praised. "Props to the both of you."

Amanda blushed and smiled lightly at the compliment (Ariana took note of her big sister's reaction and smirked to herself, yet decided it would be smarter not to intervene this time). Mr Lopez chuckled in response to Milo. "Por favor, you're giving me too much credit, Milo. All I did was gathering materials and fastening only a few parts. The rest is on Amanda."

As the four entered the living room, they were met with Mrs Lopez sitting on the couch. It was obvious that Amanda and Ariana bared a lot of their appearance from their mother, as the middle-aged woman had the same olive complexion and same dark purple hair color as her daughters, and even had Amanda's burgundy purple eyes, and her distinct nose. Her hair was styled differently, of course: as it was at armpit length with curly ends, and she had curtain bangs, fastened with pink hairclips. She also wore a china pink t-shirt alongside a sky blue and aqua neckpiece, and oblong earrings of the same color, as well as the same kind of lipstick Amanda usually has.

"Ah, so you're Amanda's friend, the Murphy boy... Milo isn't it?" Mrs Lopez asked, as she stuck out her hand.

"Uh, yeah", Milo responded, taking her hand and shaking it, "I'm Milo Murphy."

"Would you like something to eat?" Mrs Lopez offered. "We've just had lunch, but maybe you didn't?"

"I actually ate something before I came here, but thanks anyway", Milo declined.

Milo smiled warmly. There were traces of Amanda's family being like Amanda herself when it comes to perfectionism like he expected, but they still treated him like any other person, instead of a plague or a curse or a nuisance. In fact, Milo felt... welcomed.

This was something Milo had to maintain if he ever wanted to be with Amanda again. A bit of a challenge when you have Murphy's Law like him, but he still got optimistic with such a warm introduction.

Maybe today, the practice session is going as well too.

* * *

Milo had just been shown around the Lopez residence. He had to admit that Amanda and her parents had a lovely, and quite refined home. He got to see the master bedroom, where the parents slept, Ariana's bedroom, which already had several Fireside Girl sigils and sashes hanging on the wall, as well as the bathroom, the attic, and a guestroom, among others.

He was probably most impressed with Amanda's bedroom. There was the usual stuff, like a wardrobe and a make-up table, but there were also storage cases chock full CDs of tango, salsa, rumba, flamenco and opera pieces, and even a few video game soundtracks: all neatly organized and categorized by name. Same goes with various Cake 'Splosion DVDs and memorabilia Amanda had collected over the years, and even a poster on the wall.

There was a giant blue teddy bear resting next to the pillow on her bed, and placed atop the bedside table is a spacious cage where those tubes are connected to: Muffin and Bitey's cage. Milo also noted several bookcases, but some are filled with notes Amanda had written herself. There's also a neat desk with a desktop computer and a drawing board, and a stack of to-be-used paper, and a tray full of pens and pencils.

The room was so 'Amanda' and Milo loved it.

There had been a few instances of Murphy's Law during the tour, but they had been averted by Milo's swiftness quite expertly. For example, a wall clock fell off its hook, which had quickly been caught by Milo using a fishing rod, and loose planks have been mended in record time.

Mr and Mrs Lopez were perplexed but impressed at Milo's handiwork, probably expected worse, and little Ariana was a bit huffish that she couldn't show off her own handiwork.

This sounded like good news to Milo, because it meant his reaction time on Murphy's Law was in check and on point. Moreover, it appeared that Milo's a keeper. Hopefully, this was a good omen for the upcoming tango session with Amanda.

* * *

Amanda brought Milo to the basement of the Lopez residence, the one place Milo hadn't visited yet. It looked just as classy as the rest of the house.

"This is where we're going to to have our tango rehearsals", Amanda explained. "Papá and Mamá don't want to take any risks just yet, so we will have to dance here in the basement... preferably in the center."

"That's okay with me", Milo smiled.

Amanda pulled out her cellphone and played the _Mi rosa roja_ track again. Milo and Amanda tried mimicking the steps from the video from yesterday, or at least from what they could remember.

Some improvisations were made as the song continued, but so far, their dancing seemed flawless, putting Milo at ease.

As Milo and Amanda began making complicated poses during their dance without a hitch, Milo's smile got brighter. _"Alright, this is going better than yesterday"_ , he thought. _"Murphy's Law may have meddled with my dancing last time, but today I'll prove that I'm not a-"_

_"-burden!"_

Milo cringed. He suddenly thought of Ashley's insult yet again. And just like yesterday, he was thinking about it on loop.

 _"And Murph being your_ burden _!"_

 _"And Murph being your_ burden _!"_

 _"And Murph being your_ burden _!"_

"WHOA!"

Amanda's yelp brought Milo back to reality, as it turned out Milo was stumbling a bit during his thoughts on Ashley's nasty statement. Fortunately, he was brought back to reality just in time to improvise a promenade step, in order to prevent him from falling. Even better: he didn't step on Amanda's toes this time!

" _¡Oof!_ Nice save, Milo", Amanda complimented, causing Milo to blush slightly.

"Sorry about that", Milo apologized. "At the very least I haven't stepped on your toe-"

 _"Go die in a hole and farewell, you_ jinx _!"_

Milo flinched yet again as a buried thought made its way to his thought process. Shockingly, it was the cruel statement by Amanda from his bad dream!

This nasty surprise from his mind caught Milo completely off-guard, causing him to misstep on-

" _!AY!_ "

...Amanda's toes.

Milo ceased his dance immediately, kneeling down to hold Amanda's foot. "Oh gosh, I shouldn't have tempted fate! Are you alright?"

"Milo, it's fine", Amanda insisted. "It's just Murphy's Law, remember? Your dancing skills were excellent before!"

"Yeah, you two were so perfect until that moment! Like a romantic couple perfectly in sync!"

Amanda blushed red like a tomato again when the voice of the uninvited Ariana made her presence known.

"ARIANA! You shouldn't sneak upon us!" she yelled.

"Come on, you didn't think I was gonna pass up on my big sister and her boyfriend dancing together, did you?" Ariana asked in a rhetorical fashion.

"Oh, _dios mío_..." Amanda muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Can I at least keep watching", Ariana asked. "I really want to see you two dance, _por favor_."

Amanda thought a bit, before deciding: "Fine. But please, no word of commentary of any kind, until we're finished. Promise?"

"I promise! I'll be good!" Ariana begged.

Amanda peered at her little sister's face to identify if she's being honest.

"... _Buen_ ", she finally said. "Sorry about that, Milo. Let's continue."

Milo nodded, as he assumed position with Amanda. From the outside, Milo seemed as cool as a cucumber, but from the inside, his anxiety returned ten-fold.

 _"I didn't know my own nightmares could still plague me like this"_ , he thought worriedly. _"I really gotta be careful this time..."_

* * *

Unfortunately, despite Milo trying so hard to improve, he had accidentally stepped on Amanda's toes sixteen times during the session. That is one time more than yesterday! Milo felt a bit worse because of that.

"Wow, tango must be _really_ difficult for you, Milo", Ariana commented.

It didn't help to improve Milo's mood.

"Well, it _is_ a complicated dance", Amanda noted, "and we only begun practicing yesterday. I'm sure we will improve."

"...I certainly hope we will", Milo added, "but right now, it feels more like a 'one step forward, two steps back' situation."

"Maybe so, but that's because of Murphy's Law, right?" Amanda replied. "Just keep fighting it and stay alert, and soon enough _we_ will be the ones that trounce Anthony and Ashley at their own game!"

"Yeah, sure", Milo mumbled as he checked on Melissa and Zack, having received a text. Apparently, _their_ footwork _has_ improved, albeit by a little. Melissa stepped on Zack's toes eleven times, and Zack stepped on Melissa's toes eleven times too. Milo couldn't help to feel a little jealous.

Milo really did hope he could manage to flip his outcome by next week, but him being haunted by Ashley's remark _and_ his nightmare don't make him all too optimistic.

But why should _that_ matter? It was Murphy's Law, right?

...Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter shows a bit of Amanda's family! Since that never was really focused on in the show, I had to make some stuff up, like Amanda's little sister Ariana (age 10). However, since Milo Murphy's Law TECHNICALLY hasn't ended properly, this means that a potential Season 3 still has a high chance of retconning all of this. Wouldn't be the first time one of my fanfics got retconned by canon material.
> 
> Well, see ya around!


	5. Tango Practice at School

Milo woke up the next morning. Despite being still plagued by that nightmare from yesterday, he managed to sleep soundly.

Today was a Monday, meaning he had to go to school. Now, he and Amanda had already planned out to do their tango practices after school, alternating the place to practice between his house and hers, like in the past weekend. He had no idea how Melissa and Zack would practice on school days, but he guessed it to be something similar to their plan.

Milo carefully packed his backpack for the day, before he joined his parents and sister at the dinner table for breakfast. After his bowl of cereal, he noticed it was time to go, and left to the bus stop, waving his mom, dad and big sis goodbye 'til later. He also took the time to do the same with Doofenshmirtz and Cavenpus, and of course he wished his pet dog Diogee a good day as well before leaving.

He met Melissa at the bus stop.

"Hey Milo", Melissa greeted. "Excited for today?"

"Well... you could say I'm a bit nervous", Milo admitted.

"Makes sense, you said you messed up the last two times", Melissa stated. "However, I have something in mind that will give us more time to practice, but I will have to negotiate with Principal Milder first."

"That's understandable", Milo said.

Then, Zack joined Milo and Melissa at the bus stop. "Hey guys, what's up?"

"The sky", Melissa replied nonchalantly. Milo chuckled at the response. "In all seriousness", Milo told Zack, "Melissa just told me she wants to negotiate with Principal Milder to give us and Amanda more time to practice the tango."

"The tango? With _Milo_? That can only end in disaster."

That condescending response, spoken in such a haughty tone, could've only come from Bradley Nicholson, who also just arrived at the bus stop alongside Chad and Logan.

"Oh, what do _you_ know, Bradley?" Melissa spat back, clearly unamused by Bradley's statement.

"I'm just saying how it is. Everything goes wrong around _him_ , after all", Bradley defended, holding up both his left hand and what should've been his right hand, but had ultimately become a pistachio tree's root tendril by the end of last fall (long story). "Why do you want to practice the tango anyway, Milo?"

"Well, there's a tango competition at the Danville Dance Hall next week, and since Amanda always wanted to dance the tango, she and I signed up for it", Milo explained.

"Then, Anthony and Ashley, those two contestants at Cake 'Splosion Milo and Amanda were on, showed up and signed up too, because they're apparently expert tango dancers and want to be the best of the entire Tri-State Area", Zack added.

"And they then wanted to hold a bet that they're better at the tango than Milo and Amanda, because they were clearly bitter about losing at Cake 'Splosion despite the fact that they were cheating the whole time", Melissa continued. "We doubled down because they were too stubborn to want anything else, so Zack and I signed up too."

"Uh, you sure that's a good idea?" Logan asked.

"Yeah, I mean, they're experts at tango. You're likely to lose the competition AND the bet", Chad assessed.

"Which makes it all the sweeter when those pompous cheaters lose against a bunch of tango noobs like us", Melissa grinned. "And believe me, we tried talking out of it. They wouldn't budge."

"Yeah, and they also did that whole spiel about if we didn't want to participate, we'd admit that we only won against them because of a fluke... Amanda and I were practically cornered", Milo added.

"Well, I'll wish you good luck", Chad nodded.

"Yeah, good luck, Milo", Logan agreed.

"Yeah... good luck... you're gonna need it. Lots of it", Bradley finally added. "And I should say the same to Amanda too. After all, Murphy's Law makes you quite the _liability_."

Milo winced at that word, 'liability'. And the way Bradley said his good luck wish didn't seem nearly as sincere as the good luck wishing from the other two students. Milo wasn't sure whether Bradley genuinely wished him well but didn't believe he'd win, or if Bradley really _wanted_ him to lose like Anthony and Ashley did. Considering Bradley had always held a bit of contempt towards Milo, it was hard to tell.

Milo didn't have the time to ask whether Bradley was being sarcastic or not, as the bus arrived shortly. The six students boarded the bus and took a seat. In Milo's case, he sat next to Amanda, who already boarded the bus at a previous stop.

"Hi Milo", Amanda greeted Milo.

"Hey, Amanda", Milo greeted back, his cheeks slightly tinting pink. "Bradley wishes us good luck at the tango competition... I think. It's hard to tell with his preppy accent. And he thinks I need a lot of good luck, too."

"Eh, don't worry about it, Bradley never really liked you", Amanda comforted Milo. "Is there anything else I should know?"

"Well, Melissa wants to talk with Principal Milder so we can have more tango practice", Milo added. "I wonder what she has in mind..."

Before anything else could be said, the bus driver, one Margaret Decker, announced through the speaker: "Next stop: Jefferson G. County Middle School!"

The bus was about to drive away, when a sudden BANG was heard outside, putting the vehicle on halt.

"Uh, actually, it may take five minutes before we leave", Margaret then announced, "I think we just sprung a flat tire."

"Yep", Bradley sighed in his lonesome seat, "a liability..."

* * *

Several hours later, during the school's first free period, Milo, Zack and Amanda met with Melissa in the school gymnasium.

"So, Melissa, what did you negotiate for with Principal Milder?" Milo asked.

"Yeah, and why did you ask us to meet here of all places?" Zack questioned.

"This place has something to do with what I negotiated for, Zack", Melissa answered. "You guys remember that Milo managed to get the music classroom during free periods for our band rehearsals? Well, I managed to convince Principal Milder to let us use the gymnasium during free periods for our tango practice!"

"Wow, Melissa! How did you do _that?!_ " Milo asked in elated surprise. "I had to promise to never walk past her office again, but what do _you_ have to do in return?"

Melissa smirked as she reminisced back one and a half hours ago.

* * *

 _"Principal Elizabeth Milder, if you refuse to let me, Zack, Milo and Amanda use the gymnasium for tango practice, I will leak the contents of this entire folder on the internet", Melissa demanded, holding up a folder chock full of documents and photos, to a suddenly coldly-sweating Elizabeth Milder. "It contains juicy information with photographic evidence of both of the Krem-Hai Incidents (that's the teacher convention in Seattle_ and _the school trip with the S.S. Indulgence), the unsolicited purchase of the S.S. Indulgence itself from the school's budget, and you driving through a red traffic light. And you know what happens when the superintendent sees this..."_

_"Y-you're bluffing! Let me see that!" Principal Milder stammered, attempting to stay cool-headed._

_The actually cool-headed Melissa, smirking like a Mafia boss, slid the folder across the desk, allowing the principal to examine its contents thoroughly. Elizabeth opened the folder, and with each closer look on the words or image details, a new drop of sweat formed on her forehead, inadvertently confirming to Melissa that most, if not all, of the folder's contents are genuine. The more Milder frowned and sweat, the more Melissa smirked._

_"No bluffing after all, hm?", Melissa grinned. "Imagine if all of it got leaked on the internet..."_

_"Fine", Milder then said, closing the folder and shoving it back to Melissa. "You win this time, Chase. You're lucky you're one of our top students with an excellent track record."_

_"Told ya I'd make an offer you can't refuse", Melissa said. "You won't regret it, Milder."_

_"My question is, how did you get all this information in the first place?" Elizabeth asked._

_"A little trade secret", Melissa replied, reminiscing back to a few weeks ago, when she made one of the juiciest purchases of her entire life, finally being put to good use today._

* * *

_April 20th, 8:00 PM. Melissa just walked into an alley. But not just any alley..._

_Okay, it WAS an ordinary alley, but she had an appointment at this specific alley._

_Normally, it would be unwise for a girl like Melissa to just walk into a random alley in the evening, but Melissa had an appointment with a person she trusted._

_Also normally, appointments in dark alleyways would be with dealers selling stimulants of illegal kinds, but this person had juicier stuff._

_Also, this person kind of resembled Coach Nolan Mitchell, as Melissa approached the mysterious man._

_"You got the goods?" Melissa asked._

_"Right here", the dealer responded, showing her a folder chock full of documents and photos._

_Melissa picked up the folder and examined its contents, using a flashlight to actually see the details while in the dark._

_"Ohoho, now_ this _is juicy!" Melissa grinned, elated as if she just won the jackpot. "And it's all legit? It better be."_

_"I swear it on my lassoing skills", the man replied. "Now then, you got the dough?"_

_"...Eh, good enough", Melissa accepted, forking over 1500 dollars. It was part of the reward money she got from various people she, Milo and Zack had helped, such as Tobias Trollhammer and Clyde Rickenbacker, and for the longest time, she had no idea what to do with her share... until now._

_The man checked each bill of the wad of cash he had received. "Alright, t'is legit. The goods are yours."_

_Melissa felt extremely giddy. She just bought dirt on the school principal! Surely, this ought to be useful later, for when she ever needed a favor to be done! Melissa quickly waved the man goodbye and ran straight home, before her dad wondered where she was or before some creep would catch up to her..._

* * *

"Melissa? Melissa? _MELISSA?!_ "

Melissa was put out of her thoughts when Amanda kept yelling her name.

"Oh, uh, sorry", she apologized. "Must've zoned out a bit while having a flashback inside of another flashback."

Zack questioningly glared at Melissa. "Ooookay then. Y'know, I just wonder why the music room wasn't good enough."

"It's too small for dancing, Zack", Melissa replied.

"It seemed pretty big enough to me..."

"The average ballroom is much larger than this gymnasium, and the gymnasium is the largest room we have at school."

"But we only need 4 square feet per person, I feel like the music room can cover that."

"Well maybe, but the bigger, the better. Plus, you're not even taking Murphy's Law into account-"

"Guys, guys, that's enough" Milo intercepted, pulling Zack and Melissa apart. "Shall we just get started instead?"

Amanda pulled out her phone and opened the KazooTube app, this time picking a different tango song to dance to this time, a peppy ditty known as _El bandoneón de la reina_. Constantly using the same song to dance to won't expand anyone's skill that greatly, after all.

She joined Milo and said: "This is the first time we're dancing against another pair. But since we're both inexperienced, I think it would be unwise to try to out-perform them, and focus on our own dancing first and foremost."

"Good idea", Milo nodded.

Melissa overheard the two as she joined Zack. "You heard that, Zack? Better not try to one-up our opponents."

"And concentrate on our own dance, got it", Zack affirmed.

Soon enough, the two pairs got to tango. Milo tried his best to focus on himself and Amanda, but occasionally stole a few glances at Melissa and Zack, curious on how they're doing. And honestly, they've been doing pretty good! They had a different idea how to dance on this specific track compared to him and Amanda, but Zack and Melissa were on rhythm and made impressive passes.

Both of them made the occasional misstep, but he only counted three so far.

Now as for himself, Milo noticed he hasn't been doing badly, either. Not a single misstep so far, they were on rhythm as well, and the figures they made seemed great and flawless as well. Maybe he will it off this time-

 _"And Murph being your_ burden _!"_

Ashley's mean comment popped up in Milo's mind yet again. He had expected it by now, but it still threw him off a bit. He almost stumbled, but quickly recovered, and tried his hardest to focus on his and Amanda's dance despite the statement looping in his head.

 _"And Murph being your_ burden _!"_

 _"And Murph being your_ burden _!"_

 _"And Murph being your_ burden _!"_

 _"Go die in a hole and farewell, you_ jinx _!"_

Nightmare Amanda's spiteful remark suddenly took its place in Milo's mind, again throwing him off, this time making him actually stumble. But before he and Amanda fell, Milo tried shaking off the thought and put his two feet on the ground to prevent them from falling flat on their faces.

Milo stole another glance at Melissa and Zack, noticing they're staring back at him with cocked eyebrows. Milo grinned back sheepishly, embarrassed, before putting his focus back on himself and Amanda.

Milo begun dancing again with Amanda, and again tried his hardest focusing on the dance. Despite that, he was clearly struggling due to the mean comments swarming his thoughts.

 _"And Murph being your_ burden _!"_

 _"Go die in a hole and farewell, you_ jinx _!"_

 _"And Murph being your_ burden _!"_

 _"Go die in a hole and farewell, you_ jinx _!"_

 _"And Murph being your_ burden _!"_

 _"Go die in a hole and farewell, you_ jinx _!"_

 _"_ _After all, Murphy's Law makes you quite the_ liability _."_

It was Bradley's questionable word suddenly popping up that got to be the straw that eventually broke the camel's back. Milo stumbled out of sheer surprise, and he and Amanda fell... right against Zack and Melissa, all of them falling on the floor.

Lying down under a heap of his friends, Zack admitted: "Okay, fine, maybe the music room _is_ too small."

"Told ya", Melissa spoke, holding up her hand, as Zack begrudgingly laid a fiver in it.

Before any of them could've gotten up, the gymnasium's door opened, revealing Mort.

"Er, um... free period's over", Mort announced.

* * *

Most of the day was pretty uneventful. Mrs Murawski still adored her desk to an endless degree, Mr Drako was still suspected to be a vampire by Chad, et cetera. Most that Milo noticed was odd was that Principal Milder seemed more nervous than usual, especially around Melissa, making him wonder what had happened between the two during her negotiation. But all Melissa said was "Not important".

As for the tango dance practices up ahead... well...

The one in the second free period went the same way as in the first period. The session began all good and well, but ended in disaster as Milo stumbled several times and eventually fell down, dragging Amanda along. This time, Zack and Melissa managed to avoid being fallen upon.

After school was over for the day (with thankfully no homework), Milo and Amanda practiced the tango for another hour at Milo's place, with Cavenpus watching along. And it was... eh.

On the one hand, Milo was getting better and more daring with the figures. On the other hand, he kept messing up with the much simpler steps, as he stepped several times on Amanda's toes, or tripped over them.

At least Cavenpus now understood better what a tango is supposed to be.

"You know Milo, I would advise you to not get overly daring and keep practicing the simpler stuff first", Amanda began after the session, "but it almost looks like you're doing much better with the harder figures than the easier ones! I don't really understand."

During the entire session, Milo was constantly plagued with the same mantras. _Burden_ , _jinx_ , _liability_. _Burden_ , _jinx_ , _liability_. _Burden_ , _jinx_ , _liability_. _Burden_ , _jinx_ , _liability_...

Yet, Milo still told Amanda: "I guess it's still Murphy's Law acting up."

At this point, Milo wasn't even sure it was Murphy's Law anymore. Amanda's squinted eyes also seem a bit doubtful about his explanation.

Milo wasn't really looking forward to the rest of the week if these tango practices continued at a rate like this.

* * *

"AAH!"

The middle of that same night. Milo just woke up from that same awful nightmare about Amanda dumping him and Anthony and Ashley humiliating him yet again. This time, the shriek he made _was_ heard, as soon after, his mom made a visit to his bedroom.

"Milo, are you alright?" Brigette asked her son. "Your dad and I heard a yell coming from your room."

Milo was wondering how he should reply to that question. He obviously didn't want to lie, but he didn't like to go in excruciating detail about what happened in his bad dream. That alone made him realize he didn't even have to go in detail to begin with.

"I was having a nightmare, Mom", Milo answered.

"From the sound of that scream you made, it must've been a pretty awful nightmare", Brigette realized.

"You don't know the half of it", Milo responded. He was kind of hoping that his mom wouldn't take it as some kind of hint to keep pressing.

"Oh, you poor thing", Brigette cooed, approaching Milo and embracing him. "I hope you won't get any more awful dreams soon."

"Me too, but you never know for sure", Milo murmured.

"That's why you gotta stay strong, Milo", Brigette spoke. "Good night, honey."

"Good night, mom."

And Brigette closed the door, leaving just Milo in his bed.

Milo tried to sleep again. He really, really hoped that the rest of the week would fare much better compared to Monday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoyed writing those flashbacks of Melissa. Something just tells me she would absolutely do something like that.


	6. Too Much Pressure

The rest of the week didn't fare much better for Milo compared to Monday, either.

Tuesday, right as Milo and friends left the bus stop, local crossing guard (or rather, Safety Czar) Elliot Decker, overheard the middle schoolers as they approached the crosswalk.

"Come on, Milo", Zack comforted. "You still have four days to get the tango right."

"Tango? What's that all about?" Elliot questioned the kids. "And what has that Milo to do with it?"

"For your information, Elliot", Melissa chided, "Milo and Amanda are entering a tango competition, and they have to do it right if they don't want to lose against some pompous hacks that hate losing."

"Hmm, so my ears _still_ work perfectly (as they should for a Safety Czar like me), but I still can't believe what you say", Elliot monologued.

"What's so hard to believe about that?" Amanda asked.

"You really had to ask that?!" Elliot replied in disbelief. "Do you kids even realize what you're saying?! Doing something as precision-requiring as the tango, with that chaos-causing _menace_ to society?! That can only end in disaster, with the dance hall destroyed by chaos!"

Milo cringed in shame as he looked down his feet. And his friends, naturally, were straight-up offended at Elliot's remark.

"O-kay, that's enough, Elliot", Melissa spat, as she, Zack and Amanda carried Milo across the crosswalk, with scornful faces directed at the self-proclaimed Safety Czar.

"Yeah, we don't need your endless prattle just to badmouth about Milo", Zack jeered.

"Of course _you_ three reject my message", Elliot ranted, "but _you_ know you only hate me because I told you the truth!"

Now, Milo knew deep down that what Elliot said was very mean and not worthy of even thinking about, but that didn't stop his brain to unconsciously hide 'menace to society' deep in his mind, like with the rest of quotes that made Milo feel insecure.

And sure enough, Elliot's awful remark popped up during Milo's tango section in the free periods, alongside the usual suspects. Milo stumbled and fell against Amanda, his face right upon her chest. Milo felt really embarrassed.

When he and Amanda went to practice at the Lopez residence, Milo was wondering if it was just him, or that Amanda's parents, her father in particular, seemed more nervous than usual. He _hoped_ it was just him.

The practice session at Amanda's didn't go particularly well, either. Seventeen times did Milo step on Amanda's foot by accident.

"I just got a text from Melissa, she and Zack are improving", Amanda noted after the practice session was over. "Stepped only three times on each others' toes each."

She didn't say it, but she was wondering why Milo wasn't improving just like Melissa and Zack. In fact, it seemed only getting _worse_...?

* * *

Then came Wednesday. Like every other Wednesday, PE class was done early in the day, outside, and without Coach Mitchell, hence why Mr Drako is taking his place instead.

What was different today is that Milo's class was joined by some students from Middletown Middle School. It was part of some kind of temporary trade program between the two schools, where one class of a school gets to join the class of another school for the day, as was explained by Mr Drako.

"I know this sounds like a contrived plot point made up by an amateur fanfiction writer, but it was an order by the superintendent after he found out about the Speech and Debate League of Death and Destruction Cross Town Explosion Event, so please don't complain to me about it", Mr Drako said about it.

Somewhat later, Milo was approached by Wendy, that one overachieving student from the Middletown Middle School's sports club, the Middlemen.

"Hey, I heard that you're gonna compete against those two preppy guys from Park Shores Estate Middle School in a tango competition", Wendy said.

"Wow, I guess world really does travel fast", Milo responded. "I guess you wish me and Amanda good luck, right?"

"What? No, of course not! I wanted to say you might as well give up!" Wendy scoffed. "Those guys from Park Shores Estate are tango experts, and you're a _hoodoo_! You're never gonna win against them!"

Amanda came in to defend Milo after overhearing the conversation. "Hey, that's not very nice of you to say!"

"Maybe so, but it's true", Wendy shrugged.

It did not exactly help for Milo, and so, his tango practices for this day were also mucked when he was reminded of Wendy's 'hoodoo' comment. Stumble upon misstep on a constant during the free periods, and at home after school, Milo tripped over Amanda's feet, and even over some looser spikes in the flooring.

Amanda figured that by now, Milo should be able to improve at least a bit, but he still has trouble with Murphy's Law.

She was starting to wonder if it was even Murphy's Law at all.

* * *

Thursday arrived, and Amanda was chatting with Mort in the school bus, Milo overhearing the conversation.

"I don't get it, Milo should be able to at least improve a little at this point", Amanda ranted. "I'm certain he's not deliberately dancing terribly, and I know he's good at dancing. What's holding him back?"

Mort thought. "Maybe he's _cursed_...?"

"...Really?" Amanda groaned in disbelief.

Hearing Mort's hypothesis, Milo immediately thought of Murphy's Law often being compared to a curse. Milo knew Mort never treated him as a menace though, so he didn't think much of the comment.

In spite of that, the comment _did_ return to his mind during the tango practices of today, torturing him along with the other mean comments Milo's had in the week, making him trip, stumble and pratfall each and every time.

When Milo joined Amanda at her house, he had a feeling that her parents didn't really like him anymore, as he noticed aside glances towards his direction, and overall seemed more distant towards him compared to last Sunday. At least Ariana appeared as peppy as ever.

Just like at school, the practice session at the Lopezes went disastrous for Milo. He wasn't even sure he could keep up anymore with way too much worry on his mind: _Burden_ , _jinx_ , _liability_ , _menace_ , _hoodoo_ , _cursed_...

Amanda was also at a loss. Glaring with intrigue and befuddlement, she really wanted to know what _truly_ was wrong with Milo's performances. He always deflected that it was due to Murphy's Law, but she doesn't believe that anymore, as Milo always handled Murphy's Law perfectly before.

This was something deeper, and she hoped that she can figure out what and help Milo about it as soon as possible.

* * *

Friday. Milo woke up from a rather tiresome night. This week had been way too tiring for him thus far. He didn't see how the final school day of the week would be able to turn it around, but he knew skipping school was a bad idea, so he went up anyway.

He joined Amanda in the school bus with Zack and Melissa following him, when he saw Amanda's concerned face.

"What's wrong?" Milo asked.

"This video has been sent to me earlier this morning", Amanda replied, opening a video on her phone. It was from Anthony and Ashley.

" _Hey Lope, I bet you and Murph are thinking this will be easy peasy_ ", Anthony began.

" _But let us burst that bubble and show you what you're truly up against!_ ", Ashley continued.

Music began to play, which Amanda recognized as _Románticamente furiosa_ , a very fast-paced tango track that many say is difficult to dance to. Despite that reputation, Anthony and Ashley danced to it like it was nothing. Many difficult figured are performed nigh perfectly and to the beat, without a single misstep.

As the music stopped, Anthony and Ashley finished with an open embrace, smiling smugly at the camera.

" _Newbies like you probably don't come even_ close _to what we just did_ ", Ashley commented.

" _So better get the lawnmower, hedge trimmers and trowels ready, Lope_ ", Anthony taunted, " _'cause there's no way you and your_ deadweight _will ever be able to top this!_ " Then the video ended.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but they're right", Zack finally said. "We might as well give up and forfeit."

"Oh nonononono, we're not gonna chicken out", Melissa berated. "It ain't over until the fat lady sings!"

Melissa shot a glance at the bus driver. "And don't you _dare_ to jinx it, Mrs. Decker!"

"...I'm only driving you kids to school", Margaret muttered.

"Besides, I really doubt they're gonna win that bet anyway", Melissa smirked. "Zack and I have improved a lot since that bet was made, so I'm not demotivated by that performance. Gotta stay strong!"

"But _they_ still lose!" Zack shot back, gesturing at Milo and Amanda.

"Right, so if we want to win, Milo has to improve", Amanda added, looking more determined than ever.

Milo made a small smile, appreciating Amanda. He can't help himself finding her pretty when she gets serious.

Still, he wasn't sure he'll be able to improve so much within 24 hours.

* * *

First school period is science. Mrs Murawski gave the class an assignment on protective finishes such as varnish, explaining what materials it's made of, and once again using her beloved desk as an example of a varnished piece of furniture.

The class writes down notes, as there will be a test about it next week, and so does Milo. Nothing wrong so far-

_"Deadweight!"_

SNAP!

Milo was caught off-guard when Anthony's insult suddenly popped up in his head. So far, the quips he had to endure all week only appeared when Milo was practicing the tango, but _this_ appeared in science class?!

As a result, Milo accidentally broke off the tip of his pencil.

"Um, Mrs Murawski, can I use the pencil sharpener?" Milo asked, hand in the air.

"Of course, but please be quick", Mrs Murawski said. "I still would like to go in _excruciating detail_ on the molecules that make this _magnificent desk of mine so alluring and lustrous_..."

Milo ignored Mrs Murawski's pleasuring of her desk and walked to the class pencil sharpener, rotating the crank as his teacher got distracted and began kissing her desk's legs and surface, while everyone else tried looking away with all their might.

It was actually very easy for Milo to ignore Mrs Murawski's inappropriate behavior, because he himself was already lost in his own thoughts and concerns.

_"If I keep getting pestered by these remarks even outside of doing the tango, then I'm not sure I'll keep up myself..."_

* * *

School's out, and Milo and Amanda went to Milo's home, with thankfully no homework. In fact, Milo noticed they haven't had homework to do at all in the whole week. That's great, because they can use that free time to practice the tango, especially since the practices in the free periods didn't go well either. And considering tomorrow is when the Tango Teen Couple Dance-Off takes place, this may be the most important afternoon yet.

Arriving home, the two students noticed a second car has been parked in front of the yard. Milo has seen it a few times before, but it was Amanda who recognized it immediately.

"What are my parents doing at your house?" Amanda asked Milo.

"I don't know", Milo shrugged. He was surprised too, given that he believed her parents were quite distant towards him yesterday.

Milo rang the doorbell and Brigette let him and Amanda in.

"Good to see you two", Brigette greeted. "We have guests, by the way." She gestured towards the dining table, where the two can clearly see Amanda's parents and sister sitting by, as well as Sara, and Doofenshmirtz. Diogee was sitting on Sara's lap, and Cavenpus, still carrying his egg, sat on Doofenshmirtz's.

"Mamá? Papá? Ariana? What are you doing here?" Amanda asked.

"Hello, _cariña_ ", Mrs Lopez greeted, "we decided to visit your friend's house because the big day is coming soon. Don't mind us!"

"Milo, you didn't tell me you had such an adorable pet!" Ariana shouted.

"Diogee? Well, he _is_ the best dog in the world", Milo grinned.

"The _dog_?" Ariana questioned. "No, I meant this abomination thingy with the funny hat!" She gestured towards Cavenpus."

"Uh... Cavenpus is just our houseguest... I think", Milo corrected Ariana.

"And I'm _certainly_ not an abomination!" Cavenpus scoffed offendedly.

"...Yeah, he doesn't like being called an abomination", Milo said. "Anyway, Amanda and I should go practice..."

Cavenpus jumped of Heinz's lap. "I suppose that's my cue-"

"Yes! I'd love to see it!" Ariana jumped off her seat as well.

Cavenpus stared with discontent at the little girl.

"This child gets to spectate too?" Cavenpus asked. "Are you kidding me?"

"Cavenpus, be nice", Milo chided. "Ariana's a nice kid. You don't have to be catty towards her just because she calls you an abomination."

"Fiiine", Cavenpus gave in. "But only because she still finds me adorable, and doesn't run away from me like many others."

* * *

Milo and Amanda made their way to the attic alongside Cavenpus and Ariana, who take a seat in the sidelines.

Amanda pulled out her phone and set to play a track known as _Pasear por la noche_ , another slow-paced track, before leaving her phone to Cavenpus's trust. Afterwards, she joined Milo's side.

"This might be the last practice session before the dance-off, so let's give it our all this time", Amanda said.

Milo nodded with slightly furrowed eyebrows.

And so, they began their dance. They made a few steps and figures to the beat of the music. So far, so good. But Milo was still fearing the worst to come-

 _"And Murph being your_ burden _!"_

There it was. The remark that started it all: Ashley's, last Saturday. Milo tried to endure keep up with the tempo, when-

 _"Go die in a hole and farewell, you_ jinx _!"_

The remark from the nightmare Amanda from Sunday night showed up, making Milo stumble-

 _"_ _After all, Murphy's Law makes you quite the_ liability _."_

Then Bradley's remark from Monday-

 _"_ _Doing something as precision-requiring as the tango, with that chaos-causing_ menace _to society?!"_

Elliot's from Tuesday-

 _"Those guys from Park Shores Estate are tango experts, and you're a_ hoodoo _!"_

Wendy's from Wednesday-

 _"Maybe he's_ cursed _...?"_

Even Mort's from yesterday, which all things considered wasn't even that mean to begin wi-

 _"There's no way you and your_ deadweight _will ever be able to top this!"_

And there was Anthony's from the video sent to Amanda earlier today.

The entire menagerie of comments caused Milo to do absolutely anything except dancing right: almost falling, constantly misstepping, tripping, trying to keep balance, hurting Amanda's toes, not keeping rhythm, flailing legs wildly...

"Milo! What are you _doing_?!" Amanda asked exasperated.

Unfortunately, it fell to deaf man's ears, as Milo was too distracted by his thoughts.

_"Burden!"_

_"Jinx!"_

_"Liability."_

_"Menace!"_

_"Hoodoo!"_

_"Cursed?"_

_"Deadweight!"_

_"Burden!"_

_"Jinx!"_

_"Liability."_

_"Menace!"_

_"Hoodoo!"_

_"Cursed?"_

_"Deadweight!"_

_"Burden!"_

_"Jinx!"_

_"Liability."_

_"Menace!"_

_"Hoodoo!"_

_"Cursed?"_

_"Deadweight!"_

_"Burden!"_

_"Jinx!"_

_"Liability."_

_"Danger!"_

Milo widened his eyes out of surprise. That was _not_ something that was said about him this week. But he knew Elliot said it about him at one point:

 _"_ _There's_ _only one person in this town I need to stop and his middle name is_ danger _!"_

It was told to Zack right before Milo lost the signature page of his doctor's note, back half a year ago.

Suddenly, a flush of old, memorized comments invaded Milo's mind.

 _"_ _I just want to go on record, that Milo plus boat equals_ bad idea _._ _"_

That was what Milo overheard Bradley telling the teachers when they were about to board the SS Indulgence. It never bothered him before now.

 _"_ _Milo_ _,_ _you weren't here at the fish hatchery this morning,_ were you _?_ _"_

That was a quip from Melissa's dad. Richard Chase joked, but it did kind of bother Milo.

 _"_ _Is this a_ game _to you?_ _"_

Cavendish once asked him this when they were on Mr. Chase's decommissioned fire truck. At the time, Milo wasn't aware that Cavendish suspected him of deliberately sabotaging their missions, so this always struck as weird to him. But he knew that Cavendish was very cross to him, and it was during chaotic mayhem.

During all this barrage of unwanted memories, Milo still tried to dance, but he had lost all rhythm and focus, as he stepped his feet anywhere and everywhere. The only thing keeping him up is holding Amanda's hands, but that wasn't even on his mind anymore.

 _"_ _There's_ nothing _in that backpack for you now, is there?_ _"_

Milo thought that he never had to deal with evil pistachios ever again, but now he's bothered a comment from King Pistachion, reminding him that Milo is completely useless without his backpack.

 _"_ _Your family and friends are now_ mine _! Plants forever!_ _"_

Milo never felt truer hopelessness than when King Pistachion's son Derek had turned all his friends and family into vile Pistachions. And it probably could've been avoided if he didn't-

 _"_ _This_ _world would be a better place_ without _him!_ _"_

Exist.

That last one, which he remembered was probably the cruelest thing Elliot ever said about him, was the last straw. He unconsciously let loose of Amanda's hands.

" _¡AAAH!_ "

Both spun around, then fell flat on their faces. Shocked, Cavenpus immediately paused the music. Ariana similarly held her hands over her mouth as she let out a gasp.

Dazed, Milo tried getting up, even with his mind still riddled with disparaging memories.

Equally dazed, Amanda rubbed her forehead. " _Ay_ , my head..."

After she got up as well, Amanda turned to face Milo. She showed an expression of annoyance, with furrowed eyebrows.

"This has got to be our worst practice session yet, and now I've _had_ it", Amanda spoke, as she approached Milo. "Milo, I'm absolutely certain something is bothering you greatly, and that you've been doing worse and worse because of it! But you _never_ tell me what it is! Instead, you keep deflecting that it might be Murphy's Law, but frankly, all I know that it probably _isn't_ Murphy's Law. So please, tell me what it _really_ is! Maybe I can help you with it!"

Unfortunately, Milo couldn't really listen to Amanda. His mind was flooded with mean comments towards him, and all he saw was Amanda facing him and seemingly ranting while her eyebrows are furrowed. This led Milo to conclude one thing: Amanda was angry. At _him_.

And _that_ led to plenty of unpleasant things Milo remembered Amanda told towards or about him. Real or fake, mean or simply cautious, it didn't even matter anymore.

 _"_ _T_ _here's just so much can go wrong..._ _i_ _n_ this _general area._ _"_

 _"_ _Um, Ms. Baxter? You might want to put on your safety goggles and_ take a step back _._ _"_

 _"_ _Just_ _stay back, from_ everything _._ _"_

 _"_ _No, no, no! You'll just make it_ worse _!"_ _  
_

 _"This is going to be a_ disaster _! There will be wolves with bees on their heads,_ lobos con abejas _, and a dinosaur made out of ham!"_

 _"Thanks to_ you _, we lost! Worse, we lost in the most embarrassing, most humiliating way possible!_ _"_

 _"GO DIE IN A HOLE AND FAREWELL, YOU_ JINX _!"_

Milo began hyperventilating, eyes fixated on Amanda.

Amanda's face softened, her eyebrows lifted in a sad expression when she sees Milo panicking. And... did she see that correctly? Are those _tears_ forming in Milo's eyes?

"...Milo?" Amanda asked with concern.

And then the dam broke down.

Milo fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face as he began to cry, hands covering his face.

"Milo!" Amanda shouted in panic.

She was surprised to see Milo break down like that. She had never seen him cry, ever. Not even when Elliot told in his face that the entire world would be better off without him. Milo wore a doleful face, but he hadn't cried or shed a single tear. What happened to Milo for him to appear in such sorrow? Oh gosh, what if it was _her_ fault?!

The tango practice, the dance-off tomorrow, and that stupid bet forced upon them... all of them, were the _last_ thing on her mind right now. At the moment, _Milo_ is top priority. She doesn't like seeing Milo ever being sad, and she'd never forgive herself if she did this to him. She dropped to her knees and faced Milo.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, Milo!" Amanda apologized, genuinely concerned about Milo. "I shouldn't have snapped at you! Are you alright? Is something wrong?"

"They're... *sniff* they're right! They're c-completely right!" Milo sobbed, sniffling occasionally. "I _am_ a burden! I'm a jinx, a liability, a menace to society, a hoodoo, cursed to no end, *sniff* _and_ a deadweight! I-I-I'm only bringing you down, Amanda, you-you're better off without me!"

"Milo, what are you talking about? I'm not better off without you", Amanda questioned. "What happened?"

She hadn't gotten a response. Instead, Milo continued bawling. Amanda's own face showed a doleful expression at this. She didn't want Milo to be sad. She wanted to comfort Milo. In fact, she _needed_ to comfort Milo.

Amanda embraced Milo, and made sure Milo would embrace her back, letting his head rest in the crook of her neck, his tears flowing down in her clothes.

"Shshshshsh... it's okay Milo", Amanda whispered comfortingly. "Just cry yourself out. We'll talk when you have calmed down. I'm here for you."

Milo kept sobbing as Amanda kept embracing him in attempt to calm him down.

Ariana and Cavenpus were still sitting in the sidelines and saw everything. The two glanced at each other and came upon a silent agreement. Ariana gestured towards the hatch and Cavenpus nodded, as they quietly exited the attic, giving Milo and Amanda some alone time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's Valentine's Day, and what do I do? Post this chapter with what is probably the most angsty moment of this fic yet. But it ends with a real sweet gesture on Amanda's part, so I hope that makes up for it.


	7. Te Quiero

On their way down, Cavenpus and Ariana encountered Sara and Doofenshmirtz.

"Guys, did something go wrong?" Sara asked. "We thought we heard Milo crying, and Mom is getting a little worried."

"Well, yeah, he is in fact crying", Ariana confirmed, "but we don't know _why_ exactly."

"Milo was dancing terribly as usual, but then he gradually began panicking", Cavenpus explained, "and then he just... broke."

"Hmm... do you think that Amanda girl did something to him...?" Doof pondered.

"My big sis would _never_ hurt someone on purpose, _especially_ not him!" Ariana shouted offendedly. "The _nerve_ to even think about it!"

"Alright, alright! Sheesh", Heinz scoffed.

"Speaking of Amanda, why isn't she with you?" Sara questioned.

"She's trying to comfort Milo", Ariana replied. "We decided to leave the couple alone for a bit. They don't need other people to gawk at them right now. That's rude."

"That makes sense", Sara agreed. "Oh, I hope Milo is going to be okay..."

* * *

Milo had been crying for a solid five minutes while Amanda was hugging him tightly, before he was beginning to calm down. While he was still sad and distraught, tears were slowing down and drying up, and thoughts were becoming less one-tracked. He slowly removed his head from the crook of Amanda's neck. His face was a bit of a mess from all that crying, but Amanda didn't care.

"Feeling better, Milo?" Amanda asked gently.

"Y-yeah... a little..." Milo sniffled.

His eyes then widened as he noticed a wet spot on the collar of Amanda's cardigan.

"Oh my gosh! Your sweater!" Milo exclaimed. He grabbed his backpack and pulled out a box of tissues. "L-let me dry it for you."

But Amanda pushed the box back to him. "No Milo, I don't mind it this time. You need that box of tissues more than I do right now."

Milo looked confused at Amanda. "W-what for?"

In response, Amanda pulled out a tissue from the box, and began cleaning up Milo's face from any dried tears and snot. Milo understood, and then took the tissue in order to blow his nose into it.

"Thanks, Amanda", Milo spoke.

"No problem, Milo", Amanda responded.

Milo sighed. "I guess you probably think I'm a big baby now..."

"What? No, not at all, everyone can get emotional and cry", Amanda denied. "I just haven't seen you do it at all before, and considering you had to deal with so much stuff and so many mean comments, that makes you very brave, in my opinion."

Milo looked up. "You mean that?"

"Yes I do", Amanda responded firmly. "I really do think you're very brave."

This put a small smile on Milo's face. "...Thank you..."

They sat quietly for a few moments. Amanda was glancing around until she saw her phone, still displaying the track _Pasear por la noche_ on pause.

"Um, Milo", Amanda began, "I actually still would like to know what has been bothering you all week instead of Murphy's Law. Maybe I can help you or something..."

But then she remembered that was when Milo begun crying. "B-but it's totally fine if it's still too sensitive of a topic for you to talk about! Y-you don't have-"

"...No, Amanda, you're right", Milo intercepted dolefully. "I really should talk about it."

Milo breathed in through his nose, before he began.

"So... umm... you might be right. About what's holding me back during the tango, I mean", Milo spoke. "I too have realized that my failings may have nothing to do with Murphy's Law after all."

"...So, what is?" Amanda questioned.

"Things that have been told about me", Milo revealed. "Things that don't really sound... motivating."

Amanda cocked an eyebrow. "Uh... explain?"

"It all began last Saturday, after we made that bet with Anthony and Ashley", Milo continued. "Amanda, do you remember what Ashley told us when they left?"

Amanda pondered. "Uh... not really", she finally said. "I know she called you something that wasn't very nice, but..."

Amanda's eyes widened.

"Wait, I guess you _did_ remember, exactly because of that?", she realized.

Milo nodded. "She referred to me as your _burden_. It has been stuck in my mind all week, and has always bothered me during the practice sessions."

"But that can't be the _only_ thing, can it?" Amanda queried.

"Of course not, other statements have been adding up to the pile since", Milo agreed. "Bradley said I was a liability, Wendy from Middletown's told me I was a hoodoo, and even Mort's theory about me being cursed makes me wince. Not to mention Anthony called me a deadweight in that video you got this morning."

"I see", Amanda noted, listening carefully to Milo's story.

"And not only am I getting bothered by those comments, but before I broke down, like... ten minutes ago, I also got bothered by other mean or non-motivational comments from earlier this _year_ ", Milo added. "Like that time Elliot told that my middle name is 'danger'. I-I mean, it kind of is, but it's pronounced 'dahn-ziay', the French way, but Elliot clearly pronounced it like 'dain-jur'. And similar condescending stuff, like when King Pistachion tood me I had nothing in my backpack, reminding me I'm completely useless without it."

Amanda's face showed that something bothered her. "But Milo, why is that old stuff bothering you now, all of a sudden? I mean, it makes sense to be bothered by it, don't get me wrong... but you took all those things in stride and didn't give a single care to it. What's different between then and now?"

Milo sighed. "Well, back then, I knew that my best friends would always stick to me, no matter what. But now, I _do_ have someone to lose, and I really don't want to lose them, since I've admired them for so long..."

Amanda cocked her eyebrow in utter confusion. "Wait, who might _that_ be?" She asked. " _Who_ don't you want to lose, Milo?"

Milo braced himself.

"I don't want to lose _you_ , Amanda."

Amanda's eyes widened in shock. "...M-me?!"

Milo nodded. "I... dunno if many people are actually aware of it, but I've liked you, really liked you, since third grade. But what everyone _did_ know was that you didn't like imperfections and therefore feared Murphy's Law... and thus tried your best to avoid being anywhere near me."

"Ugh, I know", Amanda winced. "But that's all over, Milo. We've been bonding since the winter of this year, remember?"

"Yeah... _this_ year. _Not_ when we first met, like when I became friends with Melissa or Zack, but more than _six years_ after we met."

"Why does that matter, Milo?"

"Well..." Milo began, "you know the phrase 'old habits die hard'? Basically, because you've been avoiding for almost the half of my lifetime, I've come to fear, since last week, that you might relapse into avoiding me again, or even absolutely despising me, if Murphy's Law ever got too chaotic..."

Amanda was beginning to feel guilty. She had indeed spent over six years trying to avoid Milo because of her perfectionism, so despite her doing her best to stick close to Milo, him thinking she could ditch him like just that unfortunately didn't sound all too unrealistic of an idea.

Before Amanda could say anything, Milo continued: "I-I'm also sure your parents are beginning to hate me as well. I noticed that were more nervous and distant each visit I made to your house."

Amanda was surprised to hear that. "M-my parents? No, Milo, you got that all-"

"And there was one other thing that pestered me throughout this week alongside all of those things", Milo interrupted, clearly too occupied by his worries to listen, "a nightmare I had on the night of Sunday."

Noticing Milo was beginning to get more emotional as he spoke, Amanda repeated: "A nightmare...?"

"Yeah", Milo nodded. "It was taking place on the Tango Teen Couples Dance-Off, a-and Murphy's Law was striking harder than ever: me constantly stepping on your toes and tripping over everyone, us making a giant hole in the floor and causing a pipe to explode, and activating the fire sprinklers. W-we placed dead last as Anthony and Ashley literally danced in circled a-around us... a-a-and then y-you exploded at me, calling it the worst day of your entire life by a longshot, dumping me on the spit w-with a st-stinging slap in my face, a-and asking y-your mom to move to the moon by the f-following day."

Milo sniffled again. "When you just s-snapped at me, I was not only reminded by some awful statements of you to me, b-but also that terrible nightmare..."

As Milo was trying so hard not to cry yet again, Amanda was horrified, feeling extremely sorry for Milo. Milo was a cinnamon roll that did _not_ deserve to be tortured by such a horrible nightmare.

Tears beginning to stream down her face, Amanda instinctually tackle-hugged Milo tightly.

"Oh Milo, I'm so sorry to hear that!" she apologized. She dried her tears with her sleeve, placed her hands on Milo's shoulders and continued: "Let me make one thing clear: I would NEVER hurt you like that, and I never WANT to hurt you, _ever_. And let me reassure you, while I would love to visit the moon, maybe with a rocket ship going high in the air, I would never want to _live_ on the moon. It's completely impractical. That awful, _awful_ nightmare is _never_ going to happen. I promise."

Utterly surprised by the sudden reaction, but still doubtful about Amanda's claims, Milo asked: "H-how can be sure you'll live up to that promise."

Thinking for a moment, Amanda responded: "You will have to trust me on this. Like I have learned to trust you throughout the past half-year."

Milo finally put up a reassured smile upon hearing Amanda's claims. "Then I'll trust you."

"Thank you, Milo", Amanda said, hugging Milo again.

Milo and Amanda enjoyed the moment, but Amanda quickly noticed that Milo's smile retracted back into a frown.

"What's wrong?" Amanda asked.

Milo sighed. "Well, I want to trust and believe you, but I'm not sure that's going to stop those awful comments from reappearing in my mind... And, what about your parents? They still hate-"

"No, Milo, you got that all wrong", Amanda intercepted. "They have been more distant because they're worried about you, too. You didn't think I've told them I was worried sick about you?"

Milo widened his eyes in realization. "That makes a lot of sense, actually."

"See?" Amanda replied. "You can trust me on this too, Milo: Papá and Mamá like you a lot. Despite Murphy's Law."

"I will", Milo said. "But I'm still worried about the awful memories..."

Amanda pondered. "Have you tried remembering the good things people have said about you? Maybe thinking of more positive thoughts will cancel out the bad ones."

"Do you really think that's going to work?"

"I'm not sure, but I do know people have said plenty of nice things about you, especially your best friends", Amanda assessed. "It's at least worth a try."

"I dunno, Amanda... what if they don't think nicely about me anymore?"

Amanda sighed. "Sounds like you need a little more motivation." She grabbed her phone and opened her call list.

"Uh... what are you going to do, Amanda?", Milo asked.

"Making a special call", Amanda responded. "I'm putting the phone on speaker mode, but you don't need to say anything.

Milo cocked an eyebrow at his crush, curious at what she's up to.

* * *

Meanwhile, Zack and Melissa are practicing the tango at Melissa's home. The two are doing really well with the tango, finishing with a dip as the song _Cálido y fresco_ ended.

"Y'know Zack, I think I can do this all day with you", Melissa smirked.

"That's good and well, but I'm getting tired of being the dippee", Zack complained. "When do I get to be the dipper?"

"Not when I'm still leading, loverboy", Melissa denied flirtatiously.

Suddenly, Melissa's phone buzzed.

"Oop, someone's calling", Melissa announced. She let go of Zack (who accordingly dropped onto the floor), and fished the phone out of her pocket. "Y'ello?"

" _Hey Melissa, it's me_ ", was heard through the phone. Melissa recognized that voice.

"Amanda? What's the matter? Shouldn't you be with Milo?" Melissa asked.

" _Oh, don't worry, I'm still with Milo_ ", Amanda responded

" _Uh, hi?_ " Milo was heard from the other side as well.

" _So um, weird question, but what's your current opinion on Milo_ ", Amanda asked.

"'Weird question'? That's quite the understatement", Melissa replied. "Milo's my best friend. He's tough, he's kind, he's carefree, he's sweet, and he always takes things in stride, no matter what any mean bully says about his condition. He's one of the best people I know on Earth. I honestly thought that was kinda obvious. Why'd you ask?"

" _I'll... I'll tell you later_ ", Amanda replied hesitantly. " _But for now, I want to ask the same question to Zack._ "

"I uh, okay then."

Melissa gave her phone to a groaning Zack. "Amanda wants to know what you think of Milo."

This causes Zack to cock an eyebrow. "Okay... weird question, I thought she knew."

Zack picked up Melissa's phone. "Uh, hi, Zack here. So, am I hearing that right? You want my opinion on Milo?"

" _Yes_ ", Amanda responded.

"Well", Zack began, "when I first met Milo, he was kind of an enigma, but that same day, I learned that he sees his bad luck as an opportunity for continuous adventure and fun, and that's really admirable. I would probably be miserable if I had bad luck following me everyday. Not Milo. He's tough, smart, brave, and yet always cheerful. I think it's because of hanging around with him why I myself learned to be braver, too."

" _Thank you for your time, you two_ ", Amanda responded. " _See you tomorrow!_ " The call ended.

Melissa and Zack stood there in silence for a moment or two.

"You know, that was actually a little strange", Melissa finally spoke. "I mean, Amanda already knew what we thought of Milo, and she doesn't seem like the forgetful type."

"Yeah, in fact, I think she's the exact opposite of 'forgetful'", Zack agreed. "Kinda weird that she wants us to remind her of what we think of Milo."

Melissa pondered. Then her eyes widened.

"...Unless she wants us to remind _Milo_ of what we think of Milo", she realized.

"...What."

"Nono, I'm serious", Melissa said. "When the phone call started, I heard Milo speaking up too. I think he's been listening alongside Amanda."

"Fair enough, but why would Milo need to be reminded of what we think of him?" Zack asked.

"That's what we're going to find out soon enough", Melissa decided. "We're going to Milo and ask him what's going on. That's what best friends should do."

* * *

Amanda ended her phone call. "See, Milo, their opinion hasn't changed. Zack and Melissa still admire you."

"Huh, they still do", Milo noted. "You know, in retrospect, it was probably really silly of me to think they wouldn't like me anymore."

"Not really. You were in a funk, after all", Amanda replied. "But do you think it'll be easier to think of nice memories now?"

She saw Milo with a smile on his face. "I think I do, at least a little", Milo responded.

"Good", Amanda grinned, leaning closer to Milo.

"Uh, Amanda, what are you doing?"

"Giving you another good memory to remember", Amanda responded. "Milo, you've always been kind, sweet and selfless, and you remain perseverant through the toughest of times. You may be a jinx, but that never stopped you living your life like no one else. You showed me that you can still improvise, fix and even prevent disaster despite Murphy's Law, which makes me view it no longer as a liability, but as a challenge."

She leaned even closer to Milo. "I'm really glad to be at your side, Milo. _Te quiero_."

And then, she smacked her lips onto Milo's.

Milo felt like one thousand butterflies were fluttering inside his stomach. His crush just kissed him! And she said she loved him! Milo felt extremely giddy, bringing him back to his usual, optimistic self.

Milo felt like he had to return the favor, so he kissed Amanda back. Amanda blushed at the return to affection.

"So, I guess you're feeling better now?" Amanda asked.

"A lot better!" Milo responded. "What do you say we try the tango again?"

"I'd love to."

Amanda took her phone again, and was about to restart _Pasear por la noche_ , when she suddenly thought of something interesting to try out.

 _"Milo seems to be all better, so what if..."_ , she pondered.

She then created a playlist and included several tango songs before pressing play and joining Milo.

* * *

Martin just arrived home, to see his wife, Sara, Diogee, Doof, Cavenpus and a few more guests at the dining table.

"Oh hey, I didn't know the Lopezes would make a visit, Brigette", Martin told his wife.

"We came here since the big day is tomorrow for our starlet and her boy", Mrs Lopez.

They then could hear faint music coming from the attic.

"Oh hey, the music is starting again", Doofenshmirtz noticed. "Guess Milo's okay, now."

"Okay? Did something bad happen earlier?" Martin asked. "You know, something not related to Murphy's Law?"

"Well, we don't know exactly what's going on, but Milo got depressed to the point of crying", Brigette told her husband. "However, now that it appears they begun practicing again, I think Amanda did a really good job at comforting him."

"¡Ah, _esa es mi hija_!", Mr Lopez grinned. "When I think about it, she and Milo go pretty well together."

"That's a relief", Martin smiled. "Well, I guess there's not enough time to make dinner. I guess I'll go order a pizza, if that's alright with you."

"Not at all", Mrs Lopez responded.

"I'll place an order at Ye Olde Pizza, maybe you'll get to meet Milo's old babysitter as well", Martin explained, as he scrolled through his call list on his phone.

Sara smiled as he looked at everyone... but then she realized someone was missing.

"Hey... where's Ariana?"

* * *

"You ready?" Amanda asked Milo.

Milo nodded.

The two begun their dance as _Pasear por la noche_ began. They began with simple steps, when a memory popped back up in Milo's mind.

 _"And Murph being your_ burden _!"_

There it was again, Ashley's mean comment. Milo knew that the barrage of mean memories was coming, but this time, he's not going to let them distract him. Not again.

 _"Go die in a hole and farewell, you_ jinx _!"_

 _"After all, Murphy's Law makes you quite the_ liability _."_

 _"Doing something as precision-requiring as the tango, with that chaos-causing_ menace _to society?!"_

Milo tried his hardest to concentrate on the dance. Also, didn't Amanda say he should think of positive memories?

 _"Those guys from Park Shores Estate are tango experts, and you're a_ hoodoo _!"_

 _"Maybe he's_ cursed _...?"_

 _"There's no way you and your_ deadweight _will ever be able to top this!"_

So far, it didn't seem to work. Milo still got tortured by those awful statements. He was sure that he was about to slip up soon, and fail like the last dozen ti-

_"I must admit I had my doubts about you, my boy, but you really came through for us."_

Milo widened his eyes, as all of a sudden, a memory of Cavendish broke his thoughts. It was after King Pistachion had been defeated. Cavendish had finally expressed trust in Milo. The memory put a smile on Milo's face, even when another bad memory returned.

_"Doing something as precision-requiring as the tango, with that chaos-causing-"_

_"I think I have a new appreciation for you and your... condition."_

Except it was interrupted by another memory, this time of Melissa's dad. Milo was glad to hear that Richard Chase could relate, fighting an uncontrollable element. It was nice to hear that from someone who usually was so cautious around him.

_"Those guys from Park Shores Estate are tango experts, and you're a-"_

_"Milo! Milo! Get well soon! Your presence today was very supportive!"_

Another bad memory quickly was interrupted with another good one: Milo and Melissa used a trick to use Murphy's Law in the Jefferson County Middle School Geckos football team's favor by literally rooting for the rival team, the Middletown Middle School Tigers. What was ensured to be a loss for the Geckos even without Murphy's Law, instantly turned around to be an effective win, even if Milo broke his thumb in the end.

The memory Milo just had was a chant by the Geckos' cheerleaders, thanking him for what happened in the football match. Yeah, it was written in the hospital hall, but it was the thought that counted.

_"There's no way you and your-"_

_"Guys, I was wrong about Milo. He's resourceful! We need him! I saw Murphy's Law defeat a Pistachion!"_

Yet another bad memory replaced by a good one: this time, it was Candace, who thought Milo would be a hindrance in the war against the Pistachions, had turned around, realizing Murphy's Law can sometimes be _very_ helpful.

_"And Murph being-"_

_"Milo, I don't have any words except, you look delicious. Oops, heh heh, sorry. Default mode."_

Milo remembered getting the Octalians to team up and rescue Orgaluth, as well as Octalia itself, from the Sphere of Calamity. Her mother, the Commander, was eternally grateful for Milo's help (even with a faulty translator that would bug out to default mode due to Murphy's Law), and the Octalian population learned a valuable lesson in overcoming fears thanks to him and his friends.

_"After all, Murphy's Law-"_

_"I mean, it was scary at first, but you made it look so easy. You're really nice, Milo. We're gonna be best friends!"_

Now _that_ was a deep cut: back when he and Melissa became friends six years ago, and have been best friends ever since.

_"Maybe he's-"_

_"You know, I don't know if it's the adrenaline talking, but I'm starting to feel like we can handle anything that comes our way."_

And that one was on the day Milo first met Zack, who also stuck with him ever since.

_"Go d-"_

_"No, Milo. Things go wrong with or without the thing that shall not be named. But you're always prepared and I realized that no matter what happens, it's just better having you around."_

And finally, Nightmare Amanda's evil outburst had been dispelled by _real_ Amanda's much kinder revelation, just before she and Milo were about to get ready for the final round in Cake 'Splosion, Amanda's favorite show.

And that reminded Milo of a few more fond memories from his lovely crush Amanda.

 _"I am not nominated for anything this year. But it is an honor just to hang out with the people who_ are _nominated."_

 _"This is the most fun I've_ ever _had! And I actually got to be on Cake 'Splosion, my favorite TV show!"_

 _"If I've learned anything from you, Milo, it's that you never quit! I say, it's time for us to 'Milo up'! Let Murphy's Law just_ try _and stop us!"_

 _"Well, being a band manager is a lot tougher job than I imagined... but you're worth it. And we are..._ just getting started _."_

And then Milo was reminded of the positive messages he heard just a while ago.

_"Milo's my best friend. He's tough, he's kind, he's carefree, he's sweet, and he always takes things in stride, no matter what any mean bully says about his condition. He's one of the best people I know on Earth."_

_"When I first met Milo, he was kind of an enigma, but that same day, I learned that he sees his bad luck as an opportunity for continuous adventure and fun, and that's really admirable. He's tough, smart, brave, and yet always cheerful. I think it's because of hanging around with him why I myself learned to be braver, too."_

_"Milo, you've always been kind, sweet and selfless, and you remain perseverant through the toughest of times. You may be a jinx, but that never stopped you living your life like no one else. You showed me that you can still improvise, fix and even prevent disaster despite Murphy's Law, which makes me view it no longer as a liability, but as a challenge. I'm really glad to be at your side, Milo._ Te quiero _."_

 _"_ Te quiero _..."_

 _"_ TE QUIERO _..."_

Milo had a cheerful, giddy grin on his face as those two Spanish words looped inside his head.

Amanda didn't hate him. She _wanted_ him. She _loved_ him.

And all the while Milo constantly thought of more positive memories, his dancing improved significantly accordingly. He was on beat, he didn't misstep a single time, and together with Amanda, he succeeded performing even the most complicated figures.

Before Milo and Amanda knew it, they already ran through the whole playlist: _Pasear por la noche_ , _Mi rosa roja_ , _El bandoneón de la reina_ , _Cálido y fresco_ , and even _Románticamente furiosa_.

And without a single mistake.

Ending the song on an open embrace, Milo and Amanda leaned in closer to give each other a kiss... when a short, yellow dog jumped inbetween the two.

"Diogee! You're not supposed to be in the attic", Milo responded. "Go ho- oh wait."

"Wait, how can Diogee even get here?" Amanda questioned. "Dogs can't open hatche..."

And then Amanda saw that the hatch was opened ajar... with a phone and a pair of eyes visible, both of which Amanda recognized immediately.

"Ariana, what are you doing?!" Amanda asked.

Her cover blown, Ariana tried to explain while stammering: "Er, um, well, I heard the music playing, and I thought it meant you guys sorted it out, and um, I didn't wanna miss it. Good call too, actually, because _DIOS MÍO_ YOU GUYS WERE _AMAZING_! I recorded the _whole thing_!"

Amanda stared annoyed at her little sister, when her belly growled, as did Milo's.

"Y'know, I'm starting to get hungry", Milo realized. "When are we gonna eat?"

"Oh, right, I think I heard Mr. Murphy say something about ordering pizza at... 'Ye Olde Pizza' or something", Ariana recalled.

"Wait, Ye Olde Pizza?" Milo repeated. He turned towards Amanda and said: "Hey, maybe you're gonna meet Veronica soon!"

"...Veronica?" Amanda repeated.

"I can't believe I forgot about her as well!", Milo continued. "Oh man, my depression really messed me up! You should definitely meet her- wait, Dad's home, too?"

They heard the doorbell ringing.

* * *

Martin opened the door to see that Veronica arrived, with three pizza boxes in tow, half an hour after the order was placed. Milo and Amanda joined Martin shortly.

"Sorry if the pizzas are late", she told Martin, "traffic lights were freaking out, causing a few trucks to crash, and a crossing guard made a ruckus as several flocks of ducks were chasing him on top of all that."

"Murphy's Law affecting the delivery again, huh?" Martin asked, giving Veronica 45 dollars in exchange.

"Good to see you again, Milo", Veronica noted. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh hey Veronica", Milo responded. "This here's Amanda! She-"

"I'm his girlfriend", Amanda intercepted, making Milo blush and his heart beat twofold. She continued: "You must be Veronica."

"That's right", Veronica stated proudly. "Milo and I have gone a long way."

"How so?"

"Amanda, Veronica was my last and longest surviving babysitter", Milo explained.

"Ohhh", Amanda awed. "That makes sense."

"Yep", Veronica nodded.

"Veronica is one of the most resourceful and determined people I know", Milo explained. "She always carried a backpack around, loaded with the exact items we needed in the situations we got ourselves into."

Amanda raised an eyebrow. "Wait, that sounds familiar..."

"Well, it should. I'll let you in on a little secret", Milo replied, whispering into her ear: "My backpack is actually a hand-me-down. It used to be Veronica's!"

" _That's_ where you got your backpack from?" Amanda whispered back. "Ha, I knew that Chad's theory about your backpack being from Bigfoot was bogus!"

"Wait what?"

Before any other comment could've been made, Veronica cleared her throat. "I would love to join you guys, but I have to make more deliveries in the following 1/170 of a fortnight, so I can't dawdle too much."

But before Veronica could even do much else than turning around, Melissa and Zack arrived as well. They seemed panicked and exhausted.

"Milo! We came as soon as we could", Melissa shouted.

"Yeah, we ran all the way to your house", Zack panted. "...And I just realized that we could've used our bikes instead."

"I would punch Zack right now, but we're too worried about you, man", Melissa said. "What's wrong?"

Milo, Amanda, Martin and Veronica could only stare with mild confusion as the petered out teenagers.

"...Well, I'll be going, then", Veronica commented, hopping on her scooter and soaring away. "Hope you feel better, Milo!"

Another moment passed, before Milo told Zack and Melissa: "Well, I'm okay now, but Amanda and I can tell you the whole thing. Follow me."

* * *

"So the reason why Milo sucked at tango is because many nasty comments he received started to invade his thought process, which in turn affected his dancing skills, because he's worried about you abandoning him due to Murphy's Law?" Zack asked Amanda, after she and Milo recapped their story. They, Melissa, Ariana and Sara had gathered in the attic while eating a slice of pizza each.

"That's right", Amanda replied. "It had gotten so bad that he broke down and cried. But I reminded him that he got nothing to worry about." She hugged Milo tightly.

"I should've told anyone as soon as I realized it wasn't just Murphy's Law", Milo commented. "I'm so sorry..."

"You got absolutely nothing to apologize for", Melissa scoffed. "The point is, you feel better now, and that whole thing is over."

"Not really: the TTCDO is tomorrow night and now they haven't had a single good practice session", Zack reminded everyone. "Anthony and Ashley are gonna wipe them clean off the floor."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that", Ariana smirked.

"What do you mean?" Sara asked.

"I snuck out and saw them practice _after_ that whole debacle", Ariana revealed to Zack, Melissa and Sara. "And I recorded the whole thing." She pulled out her phone and played the video.

Twenty-five minutes of dancing tango incredibly well. Zack, Melissa and Sara were mesmerized by Milo and Amanda's tango. Ariana didn't show them everything and skipped ahead a bit, but what she showed proved enough.

"I can't believe it", Zack said. "I thought Anthony and Ashley's dance from their video earlier this morning was done incredibly well, but _this_ beats them out."

"Really?" Ariana asked. Amanda pulled out her phone and showed her little sister what Anthony sent her earlier that say.

"Wow, they dance well, but they just look shoddy in comparison to what Milo and Amanda just did", Ariana commented afterwards. "And he had the _gall_ to call your boyfriend a deadweight? Pft."

"Anthony and Ashley are the tango champions of Huntington Hill", Melissa reminded Milo, "but if you and Amanda dance just as well at the TTCDO as in that video, it's you two that got this in the bag!"

"You should thank Amanda for that", Milo replied, embracing Amanda too. "It's because of her that I'm back to my usual self."

Amanda beamed, as she embraced Milo back. "You're welcome."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You thought last chapter was long? Well, this one's even LONGER! The bulky size is necessary since it's probably one of the most important and most heartwarming yet. It didn't feel right to split it off in two chapters, in spite of it being as long as two chapters.
> 
> I wanted to post this one on February 16th, the two-year anniversary of 'Managing Murphy's Law', the episode with Amanda kissing Milo (on the cheek) for the very first time. However, there wasn't enough time left to complete it. Instead, it's posted a few days later, on February 20th, which is good timing too considering there's a movement that day to get the hashtags #MiloMurphysLaw and #RenewMML trending on Twitter!
> 
> I'm not sure when the next chapter will be posted, considering I have contributed on this story a LOT this February, but you bet your butt the next chapter will be on the big day at the Tango Teen Couples Dance-Off. I'll see you then!


End file.
